NAAD16001ENN

The EU in 2015
GENERAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

On the cover
10 11 17
1 18
12 13 19
2 3
20 21
14
5
4
22 23
15
6 7
16 24
8 9
1. The High Representative/Commission Vice-President and the Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs discuss Irans nuclear programme.
( European Union)
2. The Competition Commissioner announces antitrust inquiries concerning Google. ( European Union)
3. Hungarian soldiers build a fence at the border with Croatia. ( Associated Press)
4. The Commission President at the opening of the climate change conference in Paris. ( European Union)
5. The Financial Services Commissioner chairs the opening ceremony of the London Stock Exchange. ( European Union)
6. Demonstrators outside the Greek parliament on the night of the referendum. ( Associated Press)
7. EU, German, Greek and French leaders discuss the state finances of Greece. ( European Union)
8. The Commission President and Spanish, French and Portuguese leaders announce improved connections between the Iberian
peninsula and the rest of the EU energy market. ( European Union)
9. EU, Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian and Polish leaders announce the gas interconnector between Poland and Lithuania. ( European
Union)
10. A Triton search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea. ( Frontex)
11. The UK Prime Minister discusses his proposals for renegotiating the United Kingdoms relationship with the EU. ( Associated
Press)
12. The European Council meets in Brussels. ( European Union)
13. European dairy farmers protest in Brussels. ( Associated Press)
14. EU, Greek, French and Belgian leaders in discussion at the Euro Summit. ( European Union)
15. The Presidents of the Parliament and the Commission at the leaders meeting on the western Balkans route. ( European Union)
16. Refugees arriving in Greece. ( European Union)
17. World leaders at the G7 Summit. ( European Union)
18. The Eurogroup President addresses the press. ( European Union)
19. Emergency services evacuate the injured after shootings in the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, France. ( Associated Press)
20. The European Council President addresses the press. ( European Union)
21. The signing of the European Fund for Strategic Investments agreement. ( European Union)
22. A minutes silence in Place de la Rpublique, Paris, France, following the November terrorist attacks. ( AFP)
23. Protestors demonstrate against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. ( Associated Press)
24. EU and Ukrainian leaders at the 17th EUUkraine Summit. ( European Union)
The EU in 2015
GENERAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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in PDF, ePUB and HTML format:
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The EU in 2015 General Report on the Activities of the European Union

European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Citizens Information
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM
The EU in 2015 General Report on the Activities of the European Union

was adopted by the European Commission on 1 February 2016
under reference number COM(2016) 38.
Print ISBN 978-92-79-49806-0 ISSN 1608-7321 doi:10.2775/372965

PDF ISBN 978-92-79-49844-2 ISSN 1977-3374 doi:10.2775/5680
EPUB ISBN 978-92-79-49843-5 ISSN 1977-3374 doi:10.2775/068701
HTML ISBN 978-92-79-54807-9 ISSN 1977-3374 doi:10.2775/179184
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016
European Union, 2016

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. For any use or
reproduction of individual photos, permission must be sought directly from the
copyright holders.
CREDITS
All images and videos European Union, except:
cover: copyrights as stated on the inside cover
pages 9, 21, 28, 36: Fotolia
page 45 (Mario Draghi): European Central Bank
page 57: AFP
page 68 (Triton Joint Operation): Frontex
page 85 (Raif Badawi): Ullstein Buchverlage
Contents
FOREWORD 6
CHAPTER 1
A NEW BOOST FOR JOBS, GROWTH AND INVESTMENT 9

The investment plan for Europe 10
Economic and fiscal policy 13
Supporting Member States 14
Regional policy in support of jobs, growth
and investment 16
Research and innovation 17
Unlocking the growth potential of agriculture and oceans 19
An EU budget focused on results 20
CHAPTER 2
A CONNECTED DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET 21

The digital single market strategy 22
Better access to goods and services 22
Creating the right conditions 24
Maximising growth potential 27
CHAPTER 3
A RESILIENT ENERGY UNION WITH

A FORWARD-LOOKING CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY 28
Energy union: secure, sustainable, competitive
and affordable energy for every EU resident 29
Transforming the EUs energy system 31
An interconnected energy market 32
4 THE EU IN 2015
CHAPTER 4
A DEEPER AND FAIRER INTERNAL MARKET

WITH A STRENGTHENED INDUSTRIAL BASE 36
The single market strategy 37
Single market integration 37
Capital markets union 37
Rendering public procurement more transparent
and competitive 38
Facilitating workers mobility 39
Protecting intellectual property 39
Fairer competition 40
The aviation strategy 40
Taxation 41
CHAPTER 5
A DEEPER AND FAIRER ECONOMIC

AND MONETARY UNION 43
The development of economic and monetary union 44
The five presidents report 45
Banking union 47
The social dimension of economic and monetary union 49
CHAPTER 6
A REASONABLE AND BALANCED FREE TRADE

AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES 51
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
as a motor for jobs and growth 52
What the EU negotiated 53
How the negotiations were conducted 54
World trade in general 56
CHAPTER 7
AN AREA OF JUSTICE AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

BASED ON MUTUAL TRUST 57
A European agenda on security 58
Criminal justice 58
Fundamental rights and judicial systems 60
The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism
for Romania and Bulgaria 61
Justice for growth 61
The free movement of persons 62
Protecting fundamental rights and consumer rights 62
Gender equality 64
5
CHAPTER 8
TOWARDS A NEW POLICY ON MIGRATION 65

The European agenda on migration 66
CHAPTER 9
A STRONGER GLOBAL ACTOR 74

European neighbourhood policy 75
Strategic partnerships 78
The Middle East 79
The EUAfrica partnership 79
Human rights in the world 80
The European Year for Development 81
Responding to humanitarian crises and emergencies 81
Security and defence 83
CHAPTER 10
A UNION OF DEMOCRATIC CHANGE 84

The European Parliament at the centre
of EU political life 85
New presidents for the EUs two advisory bodies 86
Better regulation 86
Monitoring the application of EU law 87
Transparency and accountability 88
Review of the decision-making process for the authorisation
of genetically modified organisms in Member States
The European citizens initiative 90
Citizens dialogues 90
6 THE EU IN 2015
Foreword
Jean-Claude Juncker,
President of the European
Commission, gives his
State of the Union address
for 2015 in the European
Parliament, Strasbourg,
9 September 2015.
At the beginning of my mandate in November 2014 I promised a new start

for Europe and that this Commission would focus on 10 political priorities
the key challenges faced by our economy and society. As it turned out,
the first year of our mandate, 2015, was a year when the world closely
watched the EU and how it dealt with a series of crises.
Horrifying terrorist attacks took place in Paris in January and November.
Together with the Member States we needed to reduce the risk of such
brutal attacks becoming a recurring phenomenon. The European agenda
on security, which was adopted in April, set out how the EU contributes
to a more effective and coordinated approach to fighting terrorism,
organised crime and cybercrime. Within the framework of the agenda the
European Commission put forward a set of measures in December to step
up the fight against terrorism and the illegal trafficking of firearms and
explosives. Member States also found agreement on the Commissions
proposal for an EU passenger name record system. This will ensure air
carriers provide EU Member States with data on passengers entering or
departing from the EU an important part of EU security policy.
In parallel, in 2015 our continent witnessed the greatest mass movement
of people seen since the Second World War, as hundreds of thousands
of refugees from conflict zones began to arrive in Europe. Over 1 million
people took the long and dangerous journey, the vast majority fleeing
from war and terror in Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya and Syria.
Earlier this year the Commission put forward a comprehensive migration
policy and took immediate steps to manage the crisis. We tripled our presence
in the Mediterranean Sea, helping to save lives. We fought back against the
criminal networks of smugglers and traffickers. Under the Commissions
leadership Member States agreed rules to relocate and resettle hundreds of
thousands of people in clear need of international protection. The EU agencies
Foreword 7
continue to help the often overburdened national authorities in the most

affected Member States to identify, screen and fingerprint incoming migrants,
speed up the processing of asylum seekers and coordinate the return of those
who do not qualify for protection. The EU also mobilised billions of euros to
help the refugees who had already arrived on our shores, as well as those
in neighbouring countries, while efforts to tackle smugglers and dismantle
human-trafficking groups were redoubled. In October in Brussels 11 countries
agreed a 17-point plan to achieve the gradual, controlled and orderly
movement of persons along the western Balkans route, while in November in
Valletta an EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa was launched to address the
root causes of irregular migration that force people to escape and migrate:
poverty, wars, persecutions, violations of human rights and natural disasters.
It is clear that the refugee crisis will not simply go away. While the crisis
put the spotlight on immediate needs it also revealed much about the
limitations of EU migration policy and the tools at its disposal. Nevertheless,
we must and we will continue our efforts to tackle the crisis. We Europeans
should remember well that Europe is a continent where nearly everyone
has at one time been a refugee. Our common history is marked by millions
of Europeans fleeing from religious or political persecution, from war,
dictatorship or oppression.
Earlier this year we experienced a difficult period during which Greeces
continued membership of the euro area was in question. After months
of talks and many difficult moments a new stability support programme
for Greece was finally agreed in August. I never doubted we would find a
solution; adopting the euro is an irrevocable decision, and all members
stand together to make it work. As the impact of the Greek crisis c ontinues
to be felt in the euro area and throughout the European economy and
society, I would, however, like to see the programme we agreed respected
by every Greek government, past, present and future.
The crisis will be over when full employment returns to Europe. Today
over 23 million people are unemployed in the European Union. This is
an unacceptably high number. There is a clear need to invest in Europes
sources of jobs and growth, notably in our single market, and to complete
our economic and monetary union to create the conditions for a lasting
recovery. We have acted on both fronts.
For example, the 315 billion investment plan is now up and running,
and should generate more than 2 million jobs. The first projects have
already been launched and many more will follow. At the same time we
are upgrading our single market to create more opportunities for people
and businesses in all 28 Member States. Thanks to projects such as the
digital single market, capital markets union and energy union we are
reducing obstacles to cross-border activities while stimulating innovation,
connecting talents and offering a wider choice of products and services.
In June I presented, together with the presidents of other key EU institutions,
a report on the completion of our economic and monetary union. The five
presidents involved agreed a roadmap that should allow us to stabilise the
euro area by early 2017 and then, on the basis of a renewed convergence
of our economies, move from crisis resilience to new growth perspectives.
This was a bold political decision to look ahead amidst the Greek crisis.
The European Union and its Member States were pivotal in brokering the
historic agreement in Paris in December, where 195 countries adopted
8 THE EU IN 2015
the first ever universal, legally binding global climate deal. The agreement
sets out a global action plan to avoid dangerous c limate change by limiting
global warming to well below 2C. It will steer the world towards a global
clean energy transition and is a success for the European Union. Europe
has long been the global leader in climate action; the Paris agreement
now reflects our ambition worldwide.
There is much more to be said, and more detail is provided in the report,
but in touching upon the main challenges that have confronted us over
the last 12 months I am struck by one inescapable conclusion, and that
is that when faced with the refugee crisis, the economic crisis or foreign
policy challenges there is only one way to succeed: solidarity. We can
only succeed as a Union. Collectively we are stronger than the challenges
that confront us. It is time we had a little more faith in Europes ability to
provide collective solutions to problems felt acutely and independently by
each Member State.
At the end of a difficult year, during which the very nature of the E
uropean
Union has been called into question, it is important that we Europeans
remember that it is Europe that represents a haven of stability in the eyes
of people in the Middle East, in Africa and elsewhere in the world. That is
something to be proud of.
Jean-Claude Juncker
CHAPTER 1
My first priority as
Commission President will
be to strengthen Europes
competitiveness and to
stimulate investment for the
purpose of job creation.
Jean-Claude Juncker, political

guidelines, 15July 2014
A new boost for

jobs, growth and
investment
A top priority in 2015 was investments 15 times larger plan for Greece, mobilising 9
to get the EU growing again thanks to a multiplier effect, up to 35billion to support
and increase the number thus triggering investments it until 2020. Then, in
of jobs and the amount of more than 315billion. August, the negotiations
of investment without were successfully concluded
creating new debt. The The European Structural and and an agreement on the
Commission came forward Investment Funds, with a third economic adjustment
with proposals for structural budget of 454billion for programme for Greece was
reforms and advocated the 2014-2020, invested in EU signed by the Commission,
responsible management of priority areas throughout acting on behalf of
finances. In order to restore the year. Operational the European Stability
investment levels in the EUs programmes under the Mechanism. The agreement
economy it launched the European Social Fund, worth pulled Greece back from
investment plan for Europe, 86.4billion, continued the brink of default and
including new financial to invest in people, while safeguarded its future in
instruments, in cooperation the EU also frontloaded the euro area. It paved
with the European 1billion to speed up the the way for mobilising up
Investment Bank. The plan youth employment initiative, to 86billion in financial
was agreed in record time helping young people find assistance until 2018,
by the European Parliament jobs. linked to progress by Greece
and the Council of the in delivering the agreed
European Union, and a new Intense negotiations were reforms.
European Fund for Strategic held at EU level regarding
Investments was created. the ongoing economic and
The fund contains an initial financial situation in Greece.
21billion of EU money, In July the Commission
and is expected to lead to launched a jobs and growth
10 THE EU IN 2015
The investment plan for Europe

An integrated approach to economic policy is built around three main pillars: boosting investment,
accelerating structural reforms and pursuing fiscal responsibility. All three must act together for the
EU to get back on track for growth. In 2015 the EU made progress on all three fronts.
THE INVESTMENT PLAN COMPLETES THE VIRTUOUS TRIANGLE FOR

ECONOMIC GROWTH
Focus areas include: Public money as a catalyst

broadband, energy and for private investment
transport networks;
INVESTMENT
education, research and innovation;
renewable energy and energy efficiency;
the youth employment support project;
small and medium-sized enterprises
and mid-cap firms.
JOBS
FISCAL STRUCTURAL
RESPONSIBILITY REFORMS
Source: European Commission.
The investment plan consists of three mutually reinforcing strands, as detailed below.
Mobilising at least 315billion in additional investment over the next 3 years, maximising the
impact of public resources and unlocking private investment. The main instrument for achieving
this objective is the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
Making sure this extra investment reaches the real economy. The main instruments for
accomplishing this are the European Investment Advisory Hub and the European Investment
Project Portal.
Improving the investment environment, both at EU level and at the level of individual Member
States. Work is underway to address barriers with an EU and single market dimension, as well
as regulatory and non-regulatory investment challenges at national level.
Chapter 1 A new boost for jobs, growth and investment 11
Commissioner Carlos Moedas,

Commission Vice-President Kristalina
Georgieva and Commission Vice-
President Jyrki Katainen announce the
successful conclusion of negotiations
on creating a European Fund for
Strategic Investments, Brussels,
28May2015.
In November 2014 the Commission announced the establishment of a new European Fund for Strategic
Investments. The Parliament worked intensively throughout the first months of 2015 to analyse the
Commissions proposals and suggest improvements. In a trilogue meeting at the end of May the
Parliament and the Council reached a compromise agreement on the proposed regulation. The trilogue
negotiations were concluded in record time, enabling the fund to already start lending money for
projects in June.
The European Fund for Strategic Investments provides guarantees in support of projects financed
by the European Investment Bank Group. It has two main focuses: infrastructure and innovation
(managed by the European Investment Bank) and small and medium-sized enterprises (managed
by the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund). Loans can also be made
to regions. The fund is accompanied by a European Investment Advisory Hub and a European
Investment Project Portal. The hub supports the development and financing of investment projects,
offering a single point of contact for guidance and advice and providing a platform to exchange
know-how. It started its activities to support project promoters in September. The portal is a secure,
publicly available web portal where EU-based projects can promote themselves to potential
investors. It will be launched in 2016.
During the year Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen launched an EU-wide roadshow to promote
the investment plan for Europe, explaining the new opportunities open to all key stakeholders
(governments, investors, businesses, regional authorities, trade unions and communities).
All 28 Member States endorsed the European Fund for Strategic Investments. In 2015, nine Member
States pledged to contribute more than 40billion to the fund, and China also indicated its intention
to contribute.
Investment backed by the fund is targeted at developing infrastructure (broadband, energy

networks and transport); education, research and innovation; renewable energy and energy
efficiency; the environment and resource efficiency; social infrastructure and health; and supporting
small businesses.
Werner Hoyer, President of the European

Investment Bank, Jean-Claude Juncker,
President of the European Commission, and
Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen
at the signing of the European Fund for
Strategic Investments agreement, Brussels,
22 July2015.
12 THE EU IN 2015
HOW DOES THE INVESTMENT PLAN WORK?
Other public
and private
contributions
European Fund
for Strategic Investments
16 billion 5 billion
21 billion
1 x 15
315 billion
by 2017
The European Investment The European Investment

Advisory Hub will offer Project Portal
a central point for technical will help match
and financial advice for project potential investors
promoters, investors with project promoters
and authorities 240 billion 75 billion
Small and medium-sized

Long-term
enterprises and mid-cap firms
investments
JOBS
FROM INVESTMENT TO JOB CREATION
21 x 15 315 410 billion

billion billion gross domestic product + 2.1 million
Initial Generated fund
funding for investment
European Fund
for Strategic Investments Additional New jobs
economic growth

As part of the third pillar of the investment plan the Commission has started to address a
number of barriers to investment with an EU and single market dimension. This is happening
through several work streams: as part of the ongoing work on capital markets union (e.g. the
changes in the solvency II directive); the single market strategy (e.g. public procurement); the
digital single market; energy union; the better regulation agenda; and other policy initiatives.
Addressing regulatory and non-regulatory investment challenges at national level will also be a
priority of the 2016 European semester. In the context of the European semester the Commission
has started a dialogue with Member States on the identification of bottlenecks and the priority
actions to remove them. In order to achieve the ambitious objectives of the third pillar, propose
concrete reforms to the Member States and accompany implementation all services of the
Commission (including the Structural Reform Support Service) will be involved in working hand
in hand with the Member States.
By January 2016 the fund had already enabled 2.8billion in financing across a total of 21 projects
in the infrastructure and innovation category, which is expected to trigger around 13.3billion in
total investment. In the small and medium-sized enterprises category the fund enabled 1.5billion
in financing across a total of 66 projects, which is expected to trigger around 21billion in total
investment.
Commission Vice-President
Jyrki Katainen explains the new EU
strategic investment plan.
Economic and fiscal policy

In addition to investments the EUs economies require sound fiscal management and structural
reforms to get back on track.
Economic policy coordination in the EU is organised annually in a cycle known as the European
semester. Beginning with the annual growth survey for 2015, published at the end of 2014, the
Commission set out policy priorities for the EU and its Member States. The semester followed
three mutually reinforcing themes: boosting investment, accelerating structural reforms and
pursuing fiscal responsibility. In 2015, enhancements to the European semester economic policy
cycle simplified the Commissions outputs and reduced the reporting requirements for Member
States. The enhancements also made the process more open and multilateral. The flexibility within
the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact was clarified to strengthen the positive link between
structural reforms, investment and fiscal responsibility. Country-specific recommendations for each
Member State, as well as for the euro area as a whole, were proposed by the Commission in May
and endorsed by the June European Council. In July the Council adopted the final set of country-
specific recommendations.
In February, as part of the European semester, the Commission issued in-depth reviews assessing
macroeconomic imbalances and excessive imbalances in 16 Member States. Some high risks still
remained in certain Member States. The Commission therefore renewed its call to address barriers to
growth by stepping up structural reforms and investment in the modernisation and development of
14 THE EU IN 2015
infrastructure. These should be coupled with an appropriate mix of policies in the euro area to boost
confidence, contribute to rebalancing and put the recovery on a more stable footing.
Supporting Member States

In 2015, together with the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Commission
continued to provide support for the Member States that had recently completed financial assistance
programmes (Ireland, Spain and Portugal). It conducted post-programme surveillance reviews for all
three. These Member States are now growing again and consolidating their economies. In addition the
Commission continued its support programme for Cyprus to address the financial, fiscal and structural
challenges facing the economy. This will allow Cyprus to return to a sustainable growth path.
The ongoing economic and financial situation in Greece drew worldwide attention for many months in
2015. The EU hosted a series of emergency meetings throughout the summer, during which Greece
was on the brink of both default and not being able to continue in the euro area.
(Clockwise from bottom left) Franois Hollande,

President of France, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of
Germany, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, President of the
Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the
European Commission, Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister
of Greece, Donald Tusk, President of the European
Council, Uwe Corsepius, Secretary-General of the
Council of the European Union, and Mario Draghi,
President of the European Central Bank, discuss the
state finances of Greece, Brussels, 19 March 2015.
Agreement was finally reached in August, enabling the Commission, acting on behalf of the European
Stability Mechanism, to put in place a third economic adjustment programme for Greece. With the
approval of the Eurogroup and the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism the
programme helped to stabilise the economic and financial situation in Greece. The Commissions
social impact assessment concluded that, if implemented fully and in a timely manner, the programme
will help the Member State return to stability and growth in a financially and socially sustainable way.
The agreement paved the way for the mobilisation of up to 86billion in financial assistance to
Greece until 2018. In July the Commission launched a jobs and growth plan for Greece, mobilising up
to 35billion in additional support until 2020.
Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of

Greece, in discussion with Mario Draghi,
President of the European Central
Bank, at the Euro Summit, Brussels,
7July 2015.
The Commission also proposed measures to ensure that cohesion policy funding can be effectively
used for investments and that it rapidly reaches beneficiaries. This led to immediate additional
funding for Greece of some 500million and savings for the Greek budget of around 2billion. An
additional 1billion of pre-financing for the 2014-2020 programmes can be used for the launch of
new projects and will ease the strain on Greeces public budget.
Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece,

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the
European Commission, Franois Hollande,
President of France, and Charles Michel,
Prime Minister of Belgium, at the Euro
Summit, Brussels, 12 July 2015.
Investing in people
To keep its competitive edge in a global economy the EU needs a highly skilled and adaptable
worforce. This requires continuous investment in education and training, which will fuel its growth
and innovation in the long term, boost employment and help prevent social exclusion.
Reforms to improve education and training featured prominently in the European semester and were
identified as a high priority in 13 Member States.
The European Social Fund is the main EU instrument for investing in people. By the end of 2015
the Commission had adopted all the operational programmes, worth a total of 86.4billion. The
YOUNG PEOPLE (15-24 YEARS OLD) NOT IN EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION

OR TRAINING IN 2014
(percentage of the total population of the same age group and sex)
25 %
Men
Women
20 %
Men and women
15 %
10 %
5%
0
EU-28
Italy
Bulgaria
Croatia
Greece
Spain
Romania
Cyprus
Ireland
Hungary
Slovakia
Portugal
Poland
Latvia
Belgium
United Kingdom
Estonia
France
Malta
Finland
Lithuania
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Austria
Sweden
Germany
Luxembourg
Denmark
Netherlands
Source: Eurostat, labour force survey.

16 THE EU IN 2015
Commission significantly increased the pre-financing rate for funding from the youth employment
initiative, providing around 1billion to national and regional authorities. This will support up to
650000 young people not in employment, education or training. For 2014-2020 at least 10million
unemployed people are expected to improve their chances of finding employment and 395000
small and medium-sized enterprises are expected to receive funding to invest in people. Over 25%
of the money available will be allocated to promoting social inclusion and combating poverty and
discrimination.
Erasmus+ is the EU programme for education, training, youth and sport. In 2015 it enabled around
520000 young people to study, train, volunteer and participate in youth exchanges abroad. It also
enabled around 165000 staff members of educational institutions and youth organisations to
improve their competencies by teaching and training abroad.
Given the high levels of long-term unemployment, affecting an estimated 12million EU citizens of
working age, the Commission proposed policy guidance in 2015. This will help increase transitions to
employment and ensure that all jobseekers receive a job integration agreement before they reach
18months of unemployment. The Commissions recommendation was adopted by the Council in
December.
Regional policy in support of jobs, growth

and investment
Regional policy targets all regions and cities in the EU. It supports job creation, business competitiveness,
economic growth, sustainable development and the improvement of citizens quality of life. To reach
these goals and address the diverse development needs in all EU regions 351.8billion almost a
third of the total EU budget has been set aside for cohesion policy for 2014-2020. Regional policy
remains the largest source of EU funds for regions, localities and enterprises.
PROPORTION OF FUNDING FROM THE EUROPEAN STRUCTURAL AND

INVESTMENT FUNDS IN PUBLIC INVESTMENT 2014-2016
90 %
80 %
70 %
60 %
50 %
40 %
30 %
20 %
10 %
0%
Portugal
Croatia
Lithuania
Latvia
Slovakia
Hungary
Bulgaria
Poland
Romania
Estonia
Czech Republic
Greece
Cyprus
Malta
Slovenia
Spain
Italy
Ireland
Austria
Germany
Finland
France
Belgium
United Kingdom
Sweden
Denmark
Netherlands
Luxembourg
EU-28

Commissioner Corina Creu visits a

construction site in Prague, Czech
Republic, 31 March2015.
Regional policy and the Europe 2020 strategy

Regional policy complements EU policies, including those dealing with education, employment, energy,
the environment, the single market, research and innovation. In particular, regional policy provides
the investment framework to meet the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy. More than 120billion
is to be provided for investment in transport networks, energy and environmental infrastructure.
This will benefit small and medium-sized enterprises by improving transport links and addressing
environmental sustainability in the wider economy.
As part of the investment plan for Europe the allocations from the European Structural and Investment
Funds for 2014-2020 will be double those for the 2007-2013 period. They will reach 23billion by
using financial instruments such as loans, equity and guarantees rather than traditional grants. This
will improve access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises. The money will be used for
research, development and innovation, as well as for investments in energy efficiency and renewable
energy.
After an intense period of negotiations with Member States nearly all of the 2014-2020 programmes
were adopted in 2015. Implementation started for most of them. The 2007-2013 programmes
continued to be implemented throughout the year. Overall, Member States received financial
allocations amounting to 50.7billion during the year.
Research and innovation

Research and innovation help to tackle challenges like climate change, energy and public health.
This is why Horizon 2020, the EUs biggest ever research and innovation programme, is investing
77billion in research and innovation. Further private and public investment will also be attracted
thanks to the programme. The first results, published in July, showed that Horizon 2020 is on the
right track.
Commissioner Carlos Moedas at the

launch of the Science Roadshow at
the University of Coimbra, Portugal,
5November2015.
18 THE EU IN 2015
In October a new Horizon 2020 work programme was adopted, investing almost 16billion in
research and innovation in the next 2years.
By funding research and innovation on this unprecedented scale Horizon 2020 addresses three
challenges: bringing innovations to market (open innovation), making research more participative
(open science) and opening science to the world.
The European Fund for Strategic Investments has already started adding firepower to Horizon 2020,
in particular its support for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. The fund has also helped
satisfy extraordinary demand for support from InnovFin EU Finance for Innovators a joint
initiative launched by the Commission and the European Investment Bank under Horizon 2020.
In the space sector the goal of the EU is to foster the internal market for space-based applications
and support the development of EU industry. Galileo satellites were successfully launched in March,
September and December. Galileo is the EU programme to develop a global satellite navigation
system that can be used for products such as in-car navigation devices and mobile phones. A second
Copernicus satellite was launched in June, which will help tackle environmental disasters, improve
land use for agriculture and forestry and respond to emergency situations.
Commissioner Elbieta Biekowska

addresses the press following the
successful launch of two Galileo satellites,
Brussels, 31 March2015.
Connecting Europe
The Connecting Europe Facility is a multiannual funding programme set up to finance improvements
in the EUs transport, energy and digital networks, with an overall budget of over 30billion covering
the three sectors for the 2014-2020 period.
In July the Commission adopted a list of 276 projects, which amount to 13.1billion in EU funding, leading
to additional public and private co-financing of 28.8billion. The new call for proposals for a total of
7.6billion was announced in November, with a February 2016 application deadline for Member States.
Investing for a greener future

The European environment: state and outlook 2015 Synthesis report, published in March by the
European Environment Agency, demonstrated that protecting the environment is a solid economic
investment. Green industries grew by more than 50% in the EU between 2000 and 2011, and jobs in
environmental goods and services increased from 2.9 to 4.3million between 2000 and 2012. They
even showed continuous growth during the recession years.
In February the Commission and the European Investment Bank launched a new Natural Capital
Financing Facility to mobilise public money in order to generate new private investment in nature and
climate adaptation.
In December the Commission proposed a comprehensive circular-economy package. The package is

intended to encourage EU businesses and consumers to switch to a more circular economic model in
which resources are used in a more sustainable way. The proposed actions will close the loop of
product lifecycles through a focus on ecodesign, better information for consumers, increased recycling
and more reuse. The transition will be supported financially by funding from the European Fund for
Strategic Investments, 650million from Horizon 2020, 5.5billion from Structural Funds for waste
management and investments in the circular economy at national level.
Werner Hoyer, President of the

European Investment Bank, and
Commissioner Karmenu Vella at the
European Investment Bank conference
on Financing the Circular Economy,
Luxembourg, 10 December 2015.
Unlocking the growth potential of agriculture and oceans

Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, together with the bio-based industries, are integral
parts of the EUs economy and society. These sectors produce and process biological resources to
satisfy the demand of consumers and a wide range of industries for food, feed, bio-energy and bio-
based products. They enhance the EUs self-reliance and provide jobs and business opportunities that
are essential for rural, coastal and marine areas.
Commissioner Phil Hogan visits the

Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh, United
Kingdom, 18June 2015.
The EUs common agricultural policy supports investment, knowledge and access to finance for
agri-food, agri-technologies and infrastructure. During the 2014-2020 period the 118 rural
development programmes will contribute around 80billion to modernise and develop the food
and farm sector. Almost 43billion of this sum will be private-capital injection. Moreover, the
rural development programmes are expected to support business development for 66000 rural
small and medium-sized enterprises outside of agriculture. They will fund 3.7million training
places for farmers and other rural entrepreneurs and provide start-up grants for more than
160000 young farmers. Infrastructure investments will improve access to information and
communication technologies, including broadband, for nearly 18million people in rural areas. At
the same time, direct payments and market instruments will provide stability to farm revenues.
This is important for the EUs food sector, its largest employer, which provides 47million jobs and
7% of the EUs gross domestic product.
20 THE EU IN 2015
Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and

European Parliament Vice-President
Mairead McGuinness visit the Universal
Exhibition, Milan, Italy, 8 May 2015.
The Universal Exhibition, Expo 2015, the theme of which was Feeding the planet, energy for life, was
held in Milan, Italy. Over 21million people visited the Expo from 1May to 31October. The EU pavilion
was very popular with visitors.
An EU budget focused on results

At a time of increasing pressure on finances it is more important than ever to get the most out of
every euro of taxpayers money. In September the Commission launched the EU budget focused on
results initiative to ensure that EU resources are put to good use for the benefit of citizens and that
all EU-funded projects demonstrate clear benefits and value for money.
The goal is to invest the EU budget according to the Commissions policy priorities, such as stimulating
growth, jobs and competitiveness and responding swiftly and effectively to emergencies. A database
and map of successful projects funded by the EU budget is available on the Commissions website.
CHAPTER 2
We must make much

better use of the great
opportunities offered by
digital technologies, which
know no borders. To do so,
we will need to have the
courage to break down
national silos in telecoms
regulation, in copyright and
data protection legislation,
in the management of radio
waves and in the application
of competition law.

A connected digital
single market
In 2015 the Commission December to finally end shop online across the EU 21
began to implement its mobile roaming charges and help businesses expand
strategy for connecting the in June 2017, provided their online sales.
digital single market. The that certain legal acts are
strategy aims to remove adopted. From that date Political agreement was
online barriers that lead citizens will be able to travel reached on a new EU data
to EU citizens missing out throughout the EU without protection regime, and on
on goods and services. paying extra charges for new rules to ensure a high
The barriers also mean using their mobile phone, common level of network
that internet companies smartphone or tablet. They and information security
and start-ups cannot take also agreed to guarantee across the EU.
full advantage of growth an open internet for all. The
opportunities online. first legislative proposals
of the digital single market
In May the Commission strategy were presented in
took the first steps in December. They included
implementing the strategy, new rules to give EU
which aims to transform residents the right to enjoy
the EU from 28 national the films, sports broadcasts,
markets to a digital single music, e-books and games
market, create hundreds of that they have paid for in
thousands of new jobs and their home Member State
contribute 415billion per when they travel in the
year to the EU economy. EU. The Commission also
proposed new cross-border
The EU institutions reached contract rules to better
a landmark agreement in protect consumers who
22 THE EU IN 2015
The digital single market strategy

The digital single market strategy is built on three pillars:
better access for consumers and businesses to digital content and services across the EU;
creating the right conditions and a level playing field for digital networks and innovative services
to flourish;
maximising the growth potential of the digital economy.
Commission Vice-President Andrus

Ansip discusses the digital single
market strategy during a citizens
dialogue in Berlin, Germany,
10December 2015.
Better access to goods and services

Facilitating e-commerce
Most citizens who have tried to buy products online across borders will have experienced problems
with regard to differing prices or the unavailability of products. The Commission is pursuing an
MORE INTEGRATED NETWORKS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

More integrated networks, products and services
Access Environment Economy and

e-commerce Telecoms society
Parcel delivery and media Data economy
Geo-blocking Online platforms Standards
VAT Security and Skills and
personal data e-government
Creating a #DigitalSingleMarket
Chapter 2 A connected digital single market 23
update of the EU rules that govern cross-border online trade. Its aim is to make buying and selling
across borders easier, giving consumers a wider range of rights and offers and helping businesses
to sell more easily to other Member States. In 2015 the Commission began drafting rules to better
protect consumers who purchase digitally across borders. It will also address potential barriers
erected by companies to cross-border online trade in goods and services. It will particularly focus
on sectors where e-commerce is most widespread, such as electronics, clothing and shoes, and
digital content. The process began with the launch of an antitrust competition inquiry into the
e-commerce sector in May.
During the year the Commission continued its support for consumers rights in the digital marketplace.
In December it outlined harmonised rules on certain aspects of contracts for the supply of digital
content (e.g. streaming music) and on certain aspects of contracts for online and other distance sales
of goods (e.g. buying clothes online). The two proposals will help overcome legal fragmentation in
the area of consumer contract law and the resulting high costs for businesses, especially small and
medium-sized enterprises. They will also help improve consumer trust when buying from another
Member State. Consumers will benefit from a higher level of consumer protection and a wider choice
of products at more competitive prices. Businesses will be able to supply digital content and sell
goods to consumers throughout the EU based on the same set of contract rules.
Simplifying VAT rules for cross-border e-commerce

As things stand today, selling across borders in the EU can mean, for each company, over 5000 in
value added tax compliance costs per extra Member State per year. The Commission wants to provide
a level playing field for EU companies and ensure that value added tax revenues flow to the Member
State where the consumer is based. In September the Commission launched a public consultation to
help identify ways to simplify payments on cross-border e-commerce transactions in the EU.
Improving cross-border parcel delivery

Parcel delivery costs are not just an issue for consumers who buy online. Companies that sell their
products digitally also complain that delivery costs are a problem. The Commission is promoting
affordable, high-quality, cross-border delivery services through the digital single market strategy,
so that businesses can bring their products to consumers in a way that benefits all those involved
in the transaction. To find out exactly what citizens and businesses need and want the Commission
launched a consultation on this issue in May.
E-COMMERCE: HUGE POTENTIAL BUT LARGELY UNUSED AT EU LEVEL
4%
EU cross-border
services
315 million Only 15 % of

people living consumers shop online
in the EU from another Member State
use the internet Only 7 % of small
every day and medium-sized
enterprises sell across borders
42 %
54 % Member States
US-based services national services
Source: Joint Research Centre/Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, digital economy working paper, 2015.
24 THE EU IN 2015
Tackling geo-blocking
Many citizens who shop online have fallen victim to geo-blocking, the commercial practice whereby
online sellers either deny consumers access to a website based on their location or reroute them to a
local store with different prices. For example, a car rental customer in one Member State may end up
paying more for an identical car rental than customers from another Member State. In September the
Commission launched a public consultation to understand the needs of consumers, in order to help it
draft legislative proposals to end this practice, if unjustified.
Modernising copyright law

Today, EU residents travelling within the European Union may be cut off from online services providing
films, sports broadcasts, music, e-books and games that they have paid for in their home Member
State. For example, when a Dutch subscriber to a popular online provider of film and TV series travels
to Germany they can only watch the films that company offers to its German consumers. If they visit
Poland they are not able to watch films from that provider at all, since the provider does not currently
operate in Poland. In December the Commission proposed new rules to allow EU residents to travel
with the digital content they have purchased or subscribed to at home. Cross-border portability, a new
EU right for consumers, is expected to be a reality in 2017. This is the first part of the Commissions
plan to modernise EU copyright rules to respond to new technologies, consumer behaviour and
market conditions. The Commission also presented an action plan outlining legislative proposals and
policy initiatives that will follow in the first half of 2016. The Commission wants to make sure that
EU residents can access a wide legal offer of content while ensuring that authors and other rights
holders are better protected and fairly remunerated.
Reviewing the satellite and cable directive

Terrestrial television broadcasters have long been overtaken by satellite and cable providers, many of
whom have more content to offer to consumers. But are citizens getting the most out of these providers?
Do barriers related to outdated copyright laws still prevent citizens from accessing new and creative
digital content? In an attempt to define where and how satellite and cable TV providers should clear
copyright and thus provide a wider range of EU-wide content, the Commission began a formal review of
EU rules. A consultation on the satellite and cable directive, launched in August, asked whether the rules
are up to date and what the impact would be of extending them to cover TV and radio provided over the
internet. The aim is to enhance cross-border access to broadcasting and related online services across
the EU. Removing barriers in the digital single market will reward creators and creativity and strengthen
the EUs broadcasting sector while giving consumers access to a wider variety of content across borders.
Creating the right conditions

Strengthening trust in online services
As consumers move more of their lives to digital channels they are still not confident about how
companies handle their personal data. This is a concern for 72% of internet users in the EU. Addressing
the worries of EU citizens and working to provide more security and confidence online, the Parliament
and the Council endorsed new EU data protection rules, which were first proposed by the Commission
in 2012. The rules, agreed in late 2015, include:
a single set of rules on data protection, valid across the EU, saving businesses around
2.3billion a year;
strengthened and additional rights, such as the right to be forgotten;

EU rules on EU soil companies based outside the European Union will have to apply the EUs
rules when offering services in the EU;
more powers for independent national data protection authorities, who will be able to effectively
fine companies that violate EU data protection rules;
a one-stop shop for businesses and citizens companies will only have to deal with one
single supervisory authority, not 28.
The announcement of the EUs digital

single market.
The Parliament and the Council also agreed on new rules to ensure a high common level of network
and information security across the EU. This is a major element of the EUs cybersecurity strategy
all Member States will be required to adopt a national cybersecurity strategy. Specific obligations will
apply to providers of essential services in sectors such as energy, transport, banking and healthcare,
and to companies offering digital services such as search engines, cloud computing and online
marketplaces. They will be obliged to take appropriate security measures and report cyber incidents
that have a major impact to the national authorities.
Under the digital single market strategy the Commission is also working in partnership with industry
on technologies and solutions for online network security.
Commissioner Gnther Oettinger

at Startup Europe Comes to Silicon
Valley, bringing the best new EU tech
start-ups and scale-ups to meet Silicon
Valley stakeholders, San Francisco,
United States, 23 September 2015.
Ending roaming in 2017

In October the Parliament and the Council agreed to end roaming charges in the EU and approved
rules protecting the right of every EU citizen to access internet content without discrimination.
It is planned that roaming charges will come to an end in June 2017, provided that certain legal acts
are adopted, allowing users of mobile phones, smartphones and tablets, when travelling in the EU, to
pay the same price as at home, with no extra charges. In the meantime the maximum surcharge that
users will pay will be capped, from 30April 2016, at 0.05 per minute for voice calls made, 0.02 for
each SMS sent and 0.05 per megabyte of data. Since 2007 the EU has already achieved roaming
price reductions of over 80% across calls, SMSs and data.
26 THE EU IN 2015
ROAMING WHEN TRAVELLING IN THE EU
As of 15 June 2017*, no extra charges

As of 30 April 2016 you will pay domestic prices + a maximum of
(prices in euros, excluding VAT)
0.05 Voice calls made 0.02 SMSs sent 0.05 Data (per MB)
(per minute)
#roaming
* Provided that certain legal acts are adopted.
The rules agreed in October will also enshrine the principle of net neutrality into EU law. Users will be
free to access the content of their choice and will no longer be unfairly blocked or slowed down, and
paid prioritisation will not be allowed. These new rules will enter into force across all Member States
on 30April 2016.
A media and telecoms framework for the 21st century

The audiovisual sector is changing with new technologies, new business models, on-demand services
and new ways to watch, such as on a smartphone. In July the Commission launched a public
consultation on how to make the EUs audiovisual media landscape fit for purpose in the digital
age. Based on the results of the consultation the Commission will examine, in 2016, whether the
audiovisual media services directive should be adapted and updated.
Feedback from two other public consultations held in 2015 will also help the Commission to update
the EU telecoms rulebook and identify the internet speeds and quality that respondents believe will be
needed beyond 2020. The Commissions strategy for the digital single market aims to improve digital
connectivity in the EU, especially in rural areas. Only 18% of rural areas are covered by high-speed,
fibre-based broadband networks, compared to 62% of urban areas. During the 2014-2020 period the
Commission will invest 2billion from rural development programmes to improve information and
communication technologies services for nearly 18 million rural inhabitants. Under this broad theme the
European Regional Development Fund will invest 13.3billion to enhance access to digital technologies
and networks throughout the EU. In addition the Connecting Europe Facility has 150million allocated
to broadband infrastructure, through which the Commission and the European Investment Bank can
finance loans, project bonds and guarantees for project financing in the area of telecoms. Overall the
broadband part of the Connecting Europe Facility is expected to mobilise around 1billion in investment.
Online platforms
Online platforms (search engines, social media, knowledge- and video-sharing websites, app stores,
etc.) are an important part of a thriving digital economy. They benefit both consumers and suppliers
by allowing market participants to exploit the advantages of digitisation and e-commerce. They have
also changed the way in which cultural content is distributed. The results of a consultation, launched
in September, will feed into an assessment of the role of platforms and intermediaries, including on
how to tackle illegal content on the internet.
Maximising growth potential
Unlocking the benefits of e-services and advancing digital skills

The Commissions digital single market strategy supports an inclusive digital society in which citizens
have the right skills to seize the opportunities provided by the internet and boost their chances of
getting a job. In 2015 four new national coalitions for digital skills and jobs were launched, in Belgium,
Cyprus, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. There are now 13 national partnerships inspired by
the EUs Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, launched in 2013 to overcome the digital skills deficit in the EU.
E-government uses digital tools and systems to provide better public services to citizens and businesses.
It enables citizens, enterprises and organisations to carry out their business with government more
easily, more quickly and at lower cost. If introduced across the EU annual savings could exceed
50billion. In December the Parliament and the Council approved the Commissions plans for the
ISA2 programme. ISA2 will provide 131million to develop interoperable digital solutions to ensure
seamless electronic cross-border or cross-sector interaction between EU public administrations.
Digital technologies touch all parts of our daily lives. All new cars will be equipped with eCall
technology from April 2018 thanks to legislation adopted by the Parliament and the Council in April.
In the event of a serious accident eCall automatically dials 112, Europes single emergency number.
It communicates the vehicles exact location, the time of the incident and the direction of travel (most
important on motorways) to emergency services, even if the driver is unconscious or unable to make
a phone call. The Commission estimates that, once the system is fully implemented, eCall could save
hundreds of lives every year and help injured people more quickly.
Developing standards
Standards are important tools for making different systems work together. They can boost innovation
and reinforce the competitiveness of EU industry. In September the Commission asked for views on
priorities for standards in areas like cloud computing, cybersecurity, e-health, intelligent transport,
smart cities and 5G communications. 5G is the next generation of communication networks. It will not
only be faster, it will also be the backbone of our digital future and the foundation of a trillion-euro EU
market in the internet of things. The internet of things is a term used to describe new functionalities
and applications ranging from connected cars to smart homes. By 2020 there will be more than 30
times as much mobile internet traffic as there was in 2010. 5G will be the technology best equipped
to deal with this new reality. In 2015 the EU signed landmark agreements with China and Japan to
work together in the global race to develop 5G networks.
Making the most of the data economy and cloud computing

Huge amounts of data are created by people or generated mechanically. Big data can be a catalyst
for growth, innovation and digitisation. Before taking steps in this field the Commission launched a
public consultation in September to seek input for initiatives to promote the free movement of data
in the EU and to tackle restrictions on data access and where data is located. The consultation also
addresses how best to facilitate the certification of cloud services, the switching of cloud service
providers and the creation of a research cloud. These technologies will be at the heart of the EU
industry of the future. The EU institutions themselves are also committed to using cloud computing.
In December the Commission selected a number of companies that will provide a range of cloud-
based IT services for all EU institutions in 2016.
CHAPTER 3
Current geopolitical events

have forcefully reminded us
that Europe relies too heavily
on fuel and gas imports. I
therefore want to reform and
reorganise Europes energy
policy into a new European
energy union.

A resilient energy
union with a forward-
looking climate
change policy
28 The EU headed into 2015 communication on how to the energy union framework
with a commitment to deliver achieve a 10% electricity strategy. Its implementation
secure and affordable energy interconnection target will require further efforts,
to its citizens and businesses, in all Member States by however, and 2016 will be a
while also fighting the 2020. By the end of 2015 crucial year for the delivery
causes of climate change. several interconnection of energy union.
It launched the energy projects had already been
union in February to help unveiled, linking the Baltic In addition the EU played
consumers save money and states in the north, the a central role in brokering
energy, help the environment Iberian peninsula in the the worlds first universal,
and ensure security of south and Malta with the legally binding climate deal,
supply. A number of related rest of the EU. which was adopted by 195
proposals were launched in countries in December in
July that covered revising In September the Paris. The agreement set
the EU emissions trading Commission adopted out a global action plan
system, making energy- the new strategic energy to enable the world to
efficiency labels clearer and technology plan. Its aim is to avoid dangerous climate
delivering a better deal for accelerate the development change by limiting global
consumers. The Commission and deployment of low- warming to well below 2C.
also launched a public carbon technologies. It also sent a clear signal to
consultation regarding the investors, businesses and
new design of the electricity In November the policymakers that the global
market. Commission issued the state transition to clean energy
of the energy union report, is here to stay and that
In February the which showed the progress resources have to shift away
Commission presented a made since the adoption of from polluting fossil fuels.
Chapter 3 A resilient energy union with a forward-looking climate change policy 29
Energy union: secure, sustainable, competitive

and affordable energy for every EU resident
In February the Commission adopted its energy union strategy. This builds on the European energy
security strategy and on the EUs 2030 framework for climate and energy. In October 2014 the EU
Heads of State or Government had agreed targets on decreasing domestic greenhouse gas emissions
by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, an EU-wide binding target for renewable energy
of at least 27% and an energy-efficiency target of at least a 27% improvement compared to
projections. The efficiency target will be reviewed by 2020, having in mind an EU level of 30%. Given
the fundamental importance of a fully functioning and connected internal energy market, EU leaders
also agreed to a minimum 10% target for electricity interconnections between Member States by
2020. The aim will then be to increase this target to 15% by 2030.
The fundamental goal of energy union is to provide EU consumers and businesses with secure,
sustainable and competitive energy. Consumers should be offered affordable prices, and more
competition and choice, in order to save money and energy.
Energy union also aims at tackling climate change through the transition to a low-carbon, climate-
friendly economy. In February the Commission published a communication setting out a vision for a
global climate agreement in Paris in December.
The EU imports 53% of the energy it consumes, and some of its Member States depend on one
supplier for their gas imports. Diversifying energy sources and suppliers is a key means of both
improving the EUs energy security and preserving its competitiveness. In order to achieve the
diversification needed the EU is exploring the procurement of fuel supplies from other parts of the
world, exploring new technologies, further developing domestic resources (including biomass, as set
out in the EU forest strategy) and improving infrastructure to access new sources of supply.
Persistent obstacles to real market integration, uncoordinated national policies and the absence of a
common stance towards non-EU countries have impeded progress in delivering energy union.
The energy union strategy is therefore based on five dimensions:
energy security, solidarity and trust;

a fully integrated European energy market;
energy efficiency contributing to moderation of demand;
decarbonising the economy;
research, innovation and competitiveness.
Making energy union a success in all Member States will require a range of initiatives at the EU and
national levels over the coming years.
EU cohesion policy contributes to the energy union objectives on the ground. More than 110billion
has been made available through the European Structural and Investment Funds. Part of this has
been allocated to finance the low-carbon economy across the EU, including investments in sustainable
energy and multimodal urban transport. In addition, substantial support is available for investments
related to energy-efficient and decarbonised transport, as well as some support for larger-scale
smart energy infrastructure.
Following the adoption of the energy union strategy Commission Vice-President Maro efovi
set out in 2015 to visit all Member States to bring the ideas of energy union closer to the Member
States and stakeholders. The energy union tour enabled discussions with governments, national
30 THE EU IN 2015
parliaments, the energy sector and other industries, as well as social partners, consumers and
students.
The first state of the energy union report, issued by the Commission in November, looked at progress
made over the previous 9months, identified key action areas for 2016 and provided policy conclusions
at EU, Member State and regional levels. The report showed that, in addition to decarbonisation
(including through renewable energy) and energy security, the energy union strategy was delivering
on energy efficiency, the internal energy market, and research, innovation and competitiveness. It
also acknowledged that much remains to be done to fully deliver on the objectives of energy union.
POWER TO CONSUMERS
The future electricity market

will benefit consumers
Buy energy-efficient Generate your own

products, save up to power save on
465 a year your energy bills.
Surplus? Sell to
the grid and
make a profit
Clear and frequent Compare

billing information easy-to-understand
adjust your consumption offers from
and save up to different suppliers.
10 % a year Switch suppliers and
save
hundreds of euros
a year
#EnergyUnion
Know your rights Be smart with a smart meter

Claim whats yours use when its cheapest
ec.europa.eu/energy-consumers and save up to
30 % a year

A key instrument for the implementation of energy union is a reliable and transparent governance
mechanism. The report included guidance to Member States on the development of integrated
national energy and climate plans for the period from 2021 to 2030.
Transforming the EUs energy system

In July the Commission presented initiatives to deliver a new deal for energy consumers, redesign the
EU electricity market, revise the EU emissions trading system and update energy-efficiency labelling.
Empowering energy consumers

The Commissions proposals are based on a three-pillar strategy:
helping consumers to save money and play an active part in the market through better
information and a wide choice of actions;
increasing consumer trust and protection, in terms of energy rights as well as data
management, protection, privacy and security;
facilitating the active role of consumers by making full use of interoperable smart technologies.
New electricity market design
A fundamental transformation of the EUs electricity system is required to achieve the goals of the
energy union strategy. The Commissions communication on the redesign of the EU electricity market
launched a public consultation on what the new electricity market design should look like. The results
of the consultation will be used to strengthen energy security, meet consumers expectations and
deliver real benefits from new technology. They will also help identify ways to facilitate investments,
notably in renewables.
An EU emissions trading system fit for the future

In July the Commission proposed a revision of the EU emissions trading system for the period after
2020 to ensure that the system could play a full part in achieving cuts in greenhouse gas emissions
in the decade to come. The proposal was the first legislative step towards implementing the EUs
commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% domestically by 2030. It sent a
powerful signal to the international community in the run-up to the Paris climate conference.
THE EU EMISSIONS TRADING SYSTEM
below 2 C
Reducing emissions by
Paris climate
change conference at least 40 % EU wide
43 % reduction
in EU emissions trading
system sectors 2005-2030

32 THE EU IN 2015
The proposal contains three key elements: an increase in the pace of emissions cuts after 2020;
more targeted rules for the free allocation of emissions allowances to industry to safeguard
international competitiveness; and a funding boost for low-carbon innovation and energy-sector
modernisation.
Energy-efficiency label revision for greater clarity

Since its introduction 20years ago EU energy labelling has encouraged the development of ever
more energy-efficient products. This has resulted in the current energy-efficiency label becoming too
complex. In 2015 the Commission proposed a return to the original A to G energy label scale, which
is simpler and well understood by consumers.
The strategic energy technology plan

In September the Commission adopted the new strategic energy technology plan, with a projected
budget of up to 71.5billion. It seeks to improve low-carbon and new technologies and bring down
costs by coordinating research and helping to finance projects.
As the technology dimension of the EUs energy and climate policy the upgraded plan proposes
10 focused research and innovation actions. These will help accelerate the energy systems
transformation while creating new jobs and growth. A more efficient and simpler governance structure
will be put in place to increase coordination between national governments, industry and research
institutions. Greater access to risk financing will be facilitated to support new innovations and bring
new technologies to market.
An interconnected energy market

In February, as part of the energy union strategy, the Commission presented a communication on how
to achieve a 10% electricity interconnection target in all Member States by 2020. This means that
each Member State should have in place electricity cables that allow at least 10% of the electricity
produced by their power plants to be transported across its borders to neighbouring Member States.
A total of 22 Member States are already on track to meet the target, but more interconnections are
still needed in specific regions.
In March the Commission President joined the Prime Ministers of Spain and Portugal and the President of
France for the signature of the Madrid Declaration. The declaration paves the way for better connection
of the Iberian peninsula with the rest of the EU energy market. A new regional High Level Group for
South-West Europe will ensure regular monitoring of the progress of the key infrastructure projects
identified in the Madrid Declaration, as well as providing adequate support to facilitate the construction.
In April the Prime Ministers of Malta and Italy officially inaugurated the electricity interconnector
linking the two Member States. As a result Malta is now connected to the European energy grid.
(Seated, from left to right) Jean-Claude

Juncker, President of the European
Commission, Franois Hollande, President
of France, Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister
of Spain, and Pedro Passos Coelho, Prime
Minister of Portugal, sign the Madrid
Declaration to better connect the Iberian
peninsula with the rest of the EU energy
market, Madrid, Spain, 4 March 2015.
In July the Member States agreed to invest in 20 key trans-European energy infrastructure projects
under the Connecting Europe Facility. The facility has a budget of 5.35billion for supporting energy
infrastructure for the 2014-2020 period. A second call for proposals was published in June with an
indicative budget of 550million.
In October a grant agreement was signed to build a gas interconnector between Poland and Lithuania,
bringing to an end the isolation of the Baltic Sea region.
Taavi Rivas, Prime Minister of Estonia,

Dalia Grybauskait, President of Lithuania,
Laimdota Straujuma, Prime Minister of
Latvia, Ewa Kopacz, Prime Minister of
Poland, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President
of the European Commission, announce the
gas interconnector project to link Poland
and Lithuania, Brussels, 15 October 2015.
In November the Commission adopted a list of 195 key energy infrastructure projects. These are
known as projects of common interest and will help deliver the EUs energy and climate objectives.
The projects benefit from accelerated permit procedures and improved regulatory conditions. They
may be eligible for financial support from the Connecting Europe Facility.
Two new electricity interconnections connecting Lithuania to Poland and Sweden were officially
inaugurated in December. The LitPol Link connects Alytus in Lithuania with Ek in Poland, while the
NordBalt links up Nybro in Sweden with Klaipeda in Lithuania. For the first time the electricity markets
of the Baltic states will be connected to the Swedish and Polish electricity networks, enabling the
Baltic states and Poland to meet the 10% interconnection target.
Climate change and the Paris agreement

In December 195 countries adopted the worlds first universal, legally binding agreement to tackle
climate change. The deal, signed thanks to the efforts of the EU, commits all countries to take action
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a bid to keep the global temperature rise well below 2C
above pre-industrial levels and avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change.
The adoption of a new global climate agreement to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon global
economy marks the culmination of years of efforts by the international community to bring about a
universal, multilateral agreement on climate change.
Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the

Environment of Luxembourg representing the
Presidency of the Council of the European
Union (third from left), and Commissioner
Miguel Arias Caete (fourth from right)
lead representatives of the High Ambition
Coalition at the climate change conference in
Paris, France, 12December 2015.
34 THE EU IN 2015
Following limited participation in the Kyoto Protocol, and the lack of agreement in Copenhagen in
2009, the EU built a broad coalition of developed and developing countries in favour of high ambition.
The coalition shaped the successful outcome of the Paris conference.
The emissions-reduction pledges made by countries, known as intended nationally determined

contributions, were a major breakthrough development. The flow of pledges started slowly in
March, with the EU becoming the first major economy to present its contribution. The EU committed
itself to a binding, economy-wide emissions reduction target of at least 40% by 2030, compared
to 1990 levels. By the end of the Paris conference almost all of the countries in the world had put
forward comprehensive plans to reduce their emissions, many doing so for the first time. This was
an unprecedented demonstration of political will, marking a clear shift away from action by few to
action by all.
AN AMBITIOUS CLIMATE POLICY BY 2030
Cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 %
Carbon 2020 - 20 %
dioxide 2030
- 40 %
(compared to 1990)
Increase the share of renewables in the energy mix to 27 %
2020 2030
20 %
27 %
Improve energy efficiency by at least 27 %
2020 + 20 %
2030 + 27 %
(compared to the business-as-usual scenario)
The following key elements were agreed by governments in Paris.
A long-term goal to keep the global average temperature increase to well below 2C above
pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5C.
To aim to peak global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and to undertake rapid
reductions thereafter, in accordance with best available science, to achieve a balance between
sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century.
To come together every 5years to set more ambitious emissions reduction targets as required
by science.
To report to each other and the public on how well they are doing in implementing their targets,
in order to ensure transparency and oversight.
Developed countries will continue their existing collective goal to mobilise $100billion per year
by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries and extend this goal until 2025, when
a new collective target will be set.
The EU is committed to boosting climate assistance for developing countries

The EU and its Member States provided 14.5billion in funding in 2014 to help developing countries
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change. This is a
significant increase, showing the EUs determination to contribute its fair share to the $100billion
goal set in 2009 for annual finance flows from developed to developing countries by 2020. In the
2014-2020 period at least 20% of the EU budget will be spent on projects relating to climate action.
An average of 2billion per year of public grants will support activities in developing countries
between 2014 and 2020.
EU financing for climate action.
EU citizens support collective global action on climate change

The special Eurobarometer opinion poll on climate change, published just a few days before the start
of the climate summit in Paris, showed that climate change remains a key concern for the public in
the European Union, with 91% considering it a serious problem. More than 9 out of 10 people in the
EU (93%) believe that fighting climate change will only be effective if all countries in the world act
together.
Climate change what the EU is doing.

CHAPTER 4
Our internal market is

Europes best asset in times
of increasing globalisation.
I therefore want the next
Commission to build on
the strength of our single
market and to fully exploit
its potential in all its
dimensions.

A deeper and fairer

internal market
with a strengthened
industrial base
36 The Commission presented capital markets union, taxation. This was followed
plans in 2015 to build on together with an action in June by an action plan to
the strength of the EU plan of 33 measures. These achieve a comprehensive
single market and fully will make it easier for approach to ensuring fair
exploit its potential. The smaller businesses to tap and efficient corporate
single market already offers into capital markets and taxation. During the year
easier access to many find the funding they need. the Commission launched
products and services, lower This access to funds is an investigations under State
prices, greater commercial essential part of the EUs aid rules into whether
opportunities and higher financial stability. certain Member States had
standards of safety and granted tax advantages to
environmental protection. The EU also needs a selected companies.
framework for the fair
The Commission is further and efficient taxation of
developing the single corporate profits. This
market to enable EU would help distribute the
companies and industry tax burden equitably and
to thrive in the global promote sustainable growth
economy. In October it and investment. It would
launched the single market also diversify funding
strategy to help create new sources and strengthen
opportunities for consumers economic competitiveness.
and businesses. In March the Commission
proposed a package of
In the autumn the measures to create more
Commission launched the transparency in corporate
Chapter 4 A deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base 37
The single market strategy

The single market allows goods, services, capital and people to move more freely. It offers opportunities
for professionals and businesses, as well as greater choice and lower prices for consumers. It enables
people to travel, live, work and study wherever they wish. These opportunities do not always materialise,
however, because single market rules are not known, not implemented or simply jeopardised by
unjustified barriers. In October the Commission adopted the single market strategy, which proposed a
number of actions in this regard. These will be created by enabling the balanced development of the
collaborative economy, helping small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups to grow, making
the market without borders for services a practical reality, addressing restrictions in the retail sector
and preventing discrimination against consumers and entrepreneurs. The strategy will also enable the
modernisation of the EUs standards system, the increased transparency, efficiency and accountability
of public procurement and the consolidation of the EUs intellectual-property framework. All of this is
intended to bring practical benefits for people in their daily lives.
The single market strategy.
The strategy focuses on services and product markets. It complements the Commissions efforts
to boost investment, improve competitiveness and access to finance, ensure a properly functioning
internal market for energy and reap the opportunities of the digital single market.
Single market integration

The 2015 report on single market integration and competitiveness, issued by the Commission in
October, provided in-depth analysis of the state of economic integration and competitiveness in the EU.
Even though the EU saw clear signs of economic recovery during the year, targeted reforms are needed
to restore sustainable economic growth. The report shows that structural, behavioural and regulatory
barriers still hinder the overall performance of the single market. Much can be achieved simply by
improving the implementation and enforcement of existing rules, especially in the services markets.
Capital markets union

In 2015 the Commission proposed a capital markets union to improve the ability of financial markets
to serve the real economy. This initiative involves reducing fragmentation in financial markets,
diversifying financing sources, strengthening cross-border capital flows and improving access to
finance for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.
Capital markets union aims to put peoples money to work to bolster the EU economy and benefit
EU consumers. The Commission Green Paper on building a capital markets union was published in
February. It was followed by an action plan on capital markets union in September, which seeks
38 THE EU IN 2015
Unlocking funding for Europes growth.
to achieve progress in three main policy areas. The first policy area focuses on improving access
to financing for all businesses across the EU and, in particular, start-ups, small and medium-sized
enterprises and infrastructure projects. The second concentrates on increasing and diversifying the
sources of funding from investors in the EU and around the world. The third involves making the
markets work better so that the connections between investors and those who need funding are more
efficient and effective, both within Member States and across borders.
The Commission also made securitisation proposals to free up banks capital for new lending. It
presented new rules for the treatment of infrastructure projects to promote investment, launched
consultations on venture capital, covered bonds and retail financial services and published a call for
evidence on the cumulative impact of financial legislation. A proposal to modernise the prospectus
regime was put forward by the Commission in November. It aims to make it easier for companies to
grow by raising capital throughout the EU while ensuring effective investor protection. A Council
general approach on the securitisation proposals was agreed in December.
Commissioner Jonathan Hill (fifth from

the right in the first row) chairs the
opening ceremony of the London Stock
Exchange, London, 2 October2015.
Rendering public procurement more transparent

and competitive
With public expenditure on goods, works and services representing approximately 18% of EU
gross domestic product, public procurement is critical to the EUs economic recovery. Transparent
and competitive public procurement across the single market creates business opportunities for EU
enterprises and contributes to job creation.
In September the Commission gave guidance to national, regional and local authorities on applicable
EU procurement rules. These are designed to allow authorities to react quickly in times of crisis and
to satisfy the most immediate needs for housing, supplies and help when needed.
The Commission continued to support and promote the transition to e-procurement and e-invoicing
in Member States. This includes direct support in the form of grants, from the Connecting Europe
Facility and the European Structural and Investment Funds, for developing IT systems and enhancing
interoperability across the EU.
Facilitating workers mobility

Despite the fact that more than 8million EU citizens work in another Member State, finding a job
abroad and getting professional qualifications recognised is not always an easy task. In 2015 the
Commission worked on improving the EU labour market and making it easier for professionals to
work in an EU Member State other than their home state.
Effective and speedy matching of skills with vacancies is a priority. It will help people and companies
across the EU make the most of the economic potential of national and cross-border labour
mobility. The EURES portal allows workers to easily access a database of job vacancies from the
public employment services of all Member States and match them with their job applications online.
During the year the Parliament and the Council approved the Commissions proposal to strengthen
cooperation in this area.
Thanks to the new European Professional Card it will be easier for professions such as nurses,
pharmacists, physiotherapists and estate agents to work in Member States other than their home
state. In 2016 professionals will be able to use the card as a proof that they have passed administrative
checks and that their professional qualifications have been recognised by the host Member State. At
the same time the Commission will introduce an alert mechanism to protect people from unqualified
professionals. To make this happen the Commission adopted an implementing regulation in June and
worked with all the Member States to have the card ready for use in January 2016.
The European Accessibility Act proposed by the Commission in December aims to improve the
single market for key accessible products and services and contribute to the socioeconomic
participation of disabled persons. The EU-wide accessibility requirements would be beneficial both
for the approximately 80million EU citizens faced with disabilities and for companies that want
to reach out across borders. They would lead to a wider choice of accessible products and services
with more competitive prices.
Protecting intellectual property

In developing knowledge-based economies, the protection of intellectual property is important not
only for promoting innovation and creativity but also for expanding employment and competitiveness.
The EU made progress in three important areas in 2015: the unitary patent, the reform of trade
marks and the protection of trade secrets.
The unitary patent will be particularly important for the EUs innovative start-ups and small and
medium-sized enterprises, aiming to operate across borders. It will enter into force as soon as it
has been ratified by the Member States required. The objective of the unitary patent is simple and
affordable patent protection across the EU. It will introduce a single procedure for registering patents
for all participating Member States and reduce the cost of patent protection in the EU compared with
Japan, the United States and other countries.
Trade mark registration is essential to building and defending a brand. During the year the Parliament
and the Council adopted the Commissions trade mark reform package to make trade mark registration
systems across the EU more accessible and efficient for businesses. The reform will also improve
conditions for innovative businesses and provide more effective protection of trade marks against
counterfeits. The package consists of a regulation that comes into force in March 2016 and a directive
that is applicable from January 2016.
40 THE EU IN 2015
EU companies are increasingly exposed to the misappropriation of trade secrets. In November 2013
the Commission proposed a set of common rules to facilitate access to civil action across the EU in
case of trade secret misappropriation. The Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached a
preliminary agreement on the proposal in December 2015. Once the proposal becomes law the EU
will be an even better place in which to innovate and do business. The new rules will be important in
promoting competition, improving conditions for companies to invest in research and innovation and
encouraging the sharing of know-how across the EU.
Fairer competition
Competition enforcement is one of the main tools for making the single market work. Ensuring
fair competition benefits both citizens and businesses as it prevents companies from abusing their
dominant positions. It also deters them from entering into cartel agreements, including price fixing,
and sanctions them if they do. It helps prevent any possible anticompetitive outcome of company
mergers and ensures that public aid granted to companies does not unduly distort the market.
Cartels shield participants from competition, allowing them to charge higher prices. They remove
the pressure on the companies involved to improve products or find more efficient ways in which to
produce them. As a result customers foot the bill in terms of paying higher prices for lower quality
and narrower choice. This has an adverse effect on the competitiveness of the economy as a whole.
Competitiveness and innovation were fostered in 2015 by the close monitoring of State aid, notably
to prevent public money being granted to ailing companies while at the same time creating a level
playing field that facilitates the development of more innovative companies. A total of 6.1million in
illegal State aid was recovered during the year.
State aid enforcement also focused on single market priorities, including the energy, digital and
financial sectors.
The aviation strategy

The Commission worked to increase the competitiveness of the EU aviation sector, while maintaining
high safety, security and environmental standards and fostering innovation. It notably recommended
the negotiation of new international agreements with a view to offering citizens more routes at better
prices and creating business opportunities for EU companies. The EU aviation strategy, announced by
the Commission in December, identifies the innovation and digital technologies needed to manage
our skies more efficiently and to develop the full market potential of drones.
Commissioner Violeta Bulc visits

Zaventem Airport, Belgium, 2July
2015.
Taxation
The EU needs a framework for the fair and efficient taxation of corporate profits so as to distribute
the tax burden equitably, promote sustainable growth and investment, diversify the funding sources
of the economy and strengthen economic competitiveness. Corporate taxation is an essential element
of a fair and efficient tax system.
BILLIONS IN LOST REVENUE FOR MEMBER STATES
Tax evasion
and tax avoidance
1 010 billion
150 billion
tax avoidance
EU-28 government deficit

in 2014
860 billion
402 billion
tax evasion
Transparency and the fight against tax avoidance

In February the Parliament established a Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures
Similar in Nature or Effect, whose report was adopted by the Parliaments Plenary on 25November.
In December the Parliament decided to extend the Committees mandate for 6months to tackle
unresolved issues identified in its report.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager (right)

participates in an exchange of views with
Roberto Gualtieri, Chair of the European
Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee (left), and Alain Lamassoure,
Chair of the Parliament's Special Committee
on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar
in Nature or Effect (centre), Brussels,
17September2015.
42 THE EU IN 2015
In March the Commission proposed a package of measures to create more transparency regarding
corporate taxation throughout the EU. In June it presented an action plan to achieve a more
comprehensive approach to ensuring fair and efficient corporate taxation.
While it is up to Member States to establish the level of corporate taxes in their territory, the
Commission launched investigations under State aid rules into whether certain Member States
granted tax advantages to selected companies.
In October the Commission concluded that Luxembourg and the Netherlands had, respectively,
granted illegal selective tax advantages to Fiat and Starbucks. It ordered the two Member States
to recover the unpaid tax. The amounts to be recovered from each company were estimated to be
between 20million and 30million.
The Commission also opened State aid investigations into tax rulings concerning Apple in Ireland and
Amazon and McDonalds in Luxembourg. It also investigated the Belgian excess profit ruling system.
It extended the in-depth investigation of the Gibraltar corporate tax regime in order to complete its
work in verifying whether the Gibraltar tax-ruling practice is in breach of EU State aid rules.
In December, as part of a package proposed by the Commission, the Council adopted a directive
aimed at improving the transparency of tax rulings given by Member States. The directive will require
Member States to exchange information automatically on advance cross-border tax rulings, as well
as advance pricing arrangements. Member States will be able to request further information where
appropriate.
CHAPTER 5
Over the next 5years, I

want to continue with the
reform of our economic and
monetary union to preserve
the stability of our single
currency and to enhance the
convergence of economic,
fiscal and labour market
policies between the Member
States that share the single
currency.

A deeper and fairer

economic and
monetary union
On 1January 2015 the euro architecture needed for using existing instruments 43
area welcomed Lithuania as the euro area, the worlds and the current treaties to
its 19th member. second largest economy. boost competitiveness and
Despite progress in recent structural convergence,
Throughout the year the EU years divergence across to achieve responsible
continued to prioritise the the euro area remains fiscal policies at national
completion of economic and significant, and the recent and euro-area levels and
monetary union. By doing crisis further highlighted to complete financial
so it aims to create a better existing shortcomings, with union. In the longer term
and fairer life for all citizens 18million unemployed in the convergence process
and prepare for future the euro area and many must be more binding, for
global challenges. The EUs people exposed to the risk example through agreed
future prosperity depends of social exclusion. benchmarks for convergence
on the euro achieving its and a euro-area treasury.
potential in delivering jobs, The five presidents report In October the Commission
growth, social fairness on how to complete adopted a first package
and financial stability. economic and monetary of measures to start
The euro is, however, a union was launched in June. implementing the plan.
political project, requiring The report was the result
political supervision and of joint reflections by the
democratic accountability. Presidents of the European
The Parliament played a Commission, the European
leading role in ensuring that Council, the Eurogroup,
accountability in 2015. the European Central
Bank and the European
The EU moved forward Parliament. In the short
in building the solid term the report proposes
44 THE EU IN 2015
The development of economic and monetary union

With its adoption by Lithuania in January 2015 the euro is now shared by 19 Member States and
more than 330million citizens. It has provided its members with price stability and shielded them
against external volatility. It is the worlds second most important currency, representing almost a
quarter of global foreign exchange reserves. Almost 60 countries and territories around the world
either directly or indirectly peg their currency to it.
Commission Vice-President Valdis

Dombrovskis and Algirdas Butkeviius,
Prime Minister of Lithuania,
commemorate Lithuanias entry into
the euro area, Vilnius, Lithuania,
14January 2015.
Following the outbreak of the economic and financial crisis the EU took unprecedented measures to
improve the economic governance framework of economic and monetary union. It strengthened the
Stability and Growth Pact and adopted new mechanisms to prevent economic imbalances and better
coordinate economic policies. However, these emergency measures need to be consolidated and
completed to maximise the resilience of economic and monetary union to any future crisis.
THE EURO IS MORE THAN JUST A CURRENCY

A political and economic project
Euro area
19 Member States
330+ million citizens
The second
most important
currency in the world
1/4 of global
foreign exchange
reserves

Chapter 5 A deeper and fairer economic and monetary union 45
Mario Draghi, President of the

European Central Bank, unveils the new
20 banknote, Frankfurt, Germany,
24February 2015.
There is now significant divergence across the euro area. In some Member States unemployment is
at record lows, while in others it is at record highs. In some Member States fiscal policy can be used
counter-cyclically, in others fiscal space will take years of consolidation to recover. The EU is focused
on correcting this fragility.
As Commission President Juncker underlined in his address to the Parliament in December, the euro
is a political project that requires both political responsibility and political accountability. He
emphasised that the European Parliament is not only the parliament of the European Union but also
the parliament of the euro. Throughout 2015 the Parliament was closely involved in the strengthening
of economic and monetary union. The President of the Parliament, Martin Schulz, played a key role in
the preparation of the five presidents report. Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis held
discussions with the Parliament during the preparation of the annual growth survey. And President
Juncker appeared several times before the Parliament in 2015 to discuss the progress made in
delivering on the key priorities in this area.
Commissioner Pierre Moscovici addresses a

conference on Charting a Course for Better
Economic Policy in the EU, Brussels, 4June
2015.
The five presidents report

In June the five presidents launched their report on how to deepen economic and monetary union from
July 2015 and how to complete it by 2025 at the latest. The five presidents are European Parliament
President Martin Schulz, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Eurogroup President Jeroen
Dijsselbloem. They put forward measures to be implemented in three stages.
In stage 1 the EU institutions and euro-area Member States would build on existing instruments
and make the best use of the existing treaties. This means boosting competitiveness and structural
convergence, completing financial union, achieving and maintaining responsible fiscal policies at
national and euro-area levels and enhancing democratic accountability.
46 THE EU IN 2015
TURNING THE VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF ECONOMIC AND MONETARY

UNION INTO REALITY
A new boost to convergence, jobs and growth

Complete financial union
Stage 1
Responsible fiscal policies
Deepening by doing Enhanced democratic accountability
(1 July 2015-30 June 2017) (European Parliament and national parliaments)
using existing instruments
and treaties
Stage 2
More binding convergence process
Completing economic and Stabilisation function for the euro area
monetary union architecture Framework integrated into EU law
(spring 2017: Commission Euro-area treasury
White Paper)
Final stage
(by 2025)
Deep and genuine economic and monetary union
In stage 2 more far-reaching measures would be agreed to complete the economic and institutional
architecture of economic and monetary union. During this stage the convergence process would be
made more binding through a set of commonly agreed benchmarks that could be given a legal nature.
In order to be allowed to participate in a shock absorption mechanism during this second stage, each
euro-area Member State would have to make significant progress towards these standards and
continue to adhere to them once they are reached.
At the end of stage 2, and once all the steps are fully in place, economic and monetary union would
provide stability and prosperity for all citizens in the euro area.
The report recognised the importance of ensuring that every citizen has access to adequate education
and an effective social protection system, including a social protection floor. While there is no
one-size-fits-all template to follow, the challenges are often similar across Member States. These
include getting more people of all ages into work, striking the right balance between flexible and
secure labour contracts, shifting taxes away from labour, delivering tailored support for the
unemployed to re-enter the labour market and improving education and lifelong learning. To secure
the long-term success of economic and monetary union a deeper integration of national labour
markets is needed. This will involve making geographic and professional mobility easier, including
through better recognition of qualifications, easier access to public-sector jobs for non-nationals and
better coordination of social security systems.
The report also recommended the establishment of an EU-wide system of independent competitiveness
authorities to help coordinate economic and competitiveness policies. While euro-area governance is
well established for the coordination and surveillance of fiscal policies, it needs to be improved in the
broader field of competitiveness. The European semester and the macroeconomic imbalances
procedure are first steps towards correcting this shortcoming. All Member States need, however, to
improve their competitiveness as part of the same momentum. Each euro-area Member State should
create a national body in charge of tracking competitiveness performance and policies. This would
help to prevent economic divergence and would increase ownership of the necessary reforms at the
national level. These competitiveness authorities should be independent, with a mandate to assess
whether wages are evolving in line with productivity. They should compare developments in other
euro-area Member States and in the main comparable trading partners. In addition they could be
mandated to assess progress with reforms to enhance competitiveness more generally.
In October the Commission adopted a first package of measures to start implementing the reports
recommendations. The package entailed a revised approach to the European semester that
encompasses enhanced democratic dialogue and further improvements to economic governance. It
proposed the introduction of national competitiveness boards and an advisory European fiscal board.
A more unified euro-area representation in international financial institutions, in particular the
International Monetary Fund, was also proposed. The package specified the steps needed to complete
the banking union. These included a European Deposit Insurance Guarantee Scheme and measures to
further reduce risk in the banking system.
The European Political Strategy Centre provides professional and targeted policy advice to the
Commission President and the College of Commissioners. It published a series of strategic notes
throughout 2015. Three of the notes presented proposals for implementing the five presidents report.
Banking union
Significant progress was made in implementing the banking union. This is one of the key areas
required for the EU to deepen economic and monetary union. The European Central Bank assumed its
role as the banking supervisor for the banking union. The Single Supervisory Mechanism, located at
the Bank, had its first full working year in 2015. Through a supervisory review and evaluation process
all 123 centrally supervised banks received advice regarding their capital and governance structures.
In addition a number of supervisory practices and policies were harmonised.
In November the Commission proposed a European deposit insurance scheme for bank deposits
and set out further measures to reduce risks remaining in the banking sector. These measures had
been set out in the five presidents report. The banking union was established to underpin confidence
in participating banks. The European deposit insurance scheme will strengthen the banking union,
increase bank depositor protection, reinforce financial stability and further reduce the link between
banks and their sovereigns. The proposal for the scheme builds on national deposit insurance schemes
and would be accessible only on the condition that agreed rules have been implemented.
The scheme would develop over time, in three stages. In the first phase it would consist of the
reinsurance of national deposit guarantee schemes. After 3years it would become a co-insurance
scheme in which the contribution of the European deposit insurance scheme would progressively
increase over time. The final stage would comprise a full European deposit insurance scheme and is
envisaged in 2024.
Individual depositors would continue to enjoy the same level of protection (100000). The European
deposit insurance scheme would be mandatory for euro-area Member States whose banks are
covered by the Single Supervisory Mechanism. It would also be open to other Member States who
want to join the banking union.
In December the intergovernmental agreement on the Single Resolution Mechanism was ratified
by a sufficient number of Member States. As a result the Single Resolution Board became fully
operational as of January 2016. The board was established in 2015 to deal with banks in difficulty
in the euro area. The agreement also meant that the Single Resolution Fund will start being filled up
from national resolution funds in the euro area.
48 THE EU IN 2015
COMPLETING THE BANKING UNION
Single rulebook
New rules to make banks better
capitalised and risks better controlled
Single supervision
Crisis
deepens European Central Bank supervises
Banks need +/ 130 important banks;
support national supervisors work closely
from national together within an integrated system
Weaker governments
bank
balance Single resolution
sheets If all else fails, as a last resort,
Fiscal position
the Single Resolution Board
of government
Refinancing weakened can decide to resolve a failing bank,
costs rise; backed by a fund that banks
higher themselves pay into
debt yield (no longer the taxpayers)
European deposit insurance scheme

New rules to guarantee
citizens savings in banks
Prudential regulation of financial markets and institutions

The Commission continued to monitor and analyse financial sector developments in Member States,
the EU and around the world in order to identify potential sources of systemic risk and recommend
mitigating actions.
Huge efforts have been made to strengthen financial institutions in the EU in recent years. New
regulatory and supervisory frameworks have been put in place. Financial institutions themselves
have also done a lot to increase their resilience in order to comply with new regulatory standards and
meet market expectations.
Financial markets
The rules governing trading in financial instruments have been strengthened, as have sanctions
against market abuse. The protection of investors in collective investment funds, and of purchasers
A stronger banking union.

of insurance, has been enhanced. Securities financing markets have been made more transparent
and progress has been made towards meeting the EUs G20 obligations on derivatives clearing.
Controlling State aid and ensuring fair competition

State aid control has an important role in ensuring a level playing field within the banking union. Since
the beginning of the crisis 112 banks in the EU, representing around 30% of the EUs banking system
by assets, have received State aid. Member States have supported the banks by injecting 671billion
of capital (5% of the EUs gross domestic product) and providing 1288billion, or 10% of gross
domestic product, in guarantees and other liquidity support. Most banks that received aid during the
crisis have bounced back after implementing a considerable part of their restructuring plans. The aid
had been given to secure citizens savings, avoid bankruptcy and prevent the subsequent collapse of
the banking system across the continent.
The Commission remained particularly vigilant in the financial services market, in the areas of
financial derivatives and payment services. In February the Commission fined the UK-based broker
ICAP 14.96million for having facilitated several cartels in the sector of yen interest rate derivatives.
Markets working for consumers

More than 40% of non-cash payments are made through payment cards. Multilateral interchange
fees imposed when using cards may result in higher prices for consumers. In June the multilateral
interchange fees regulation entered into force. It sets a cap on fees for the use of card payments and
makes it easier for retailers to use banks in other Member States offering lower prices.
In 2015 the Parliament and the Council also completed negotiations on the revised payment services
directive, which will open up business opportunities for non-bank players, such as the companies that
initiate online payments. In insurance, greater efficiency, safety and transparency for consumers was
achieved due to a political agreement on the insurance distribution directive.
The social dimension of economic and monetary union

Social dialogue
One of the key changes made to the 2015 European semester was to increase the role played
by social partners in designing and implementing policies and reforms. This required, among other
things, an increased focus on capacity building. The new approach was launched during a high-level
conference in March attended by leaders of EU and national social partner organisations. It was also
attended by Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of
the European Commission, Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner Marianne
Thyssen and Uldis Augulis, the Minister for Welfare of Latvia. The Commission is now discussing
the analysis from its country reports directly with social partner organisations. Social partners also
Emma Marcegaglia, President of

BusinessEurope, Commissioner
Marianne Thyssen, Commission Vice-
President Valdis Dombrovskis and
Valeria Ronzitti, General Secretary of
the European Centre of Employers and
Enterprises providing Public Services,
at the high-level conference on A New
Start for Social Dialogue, Brussels,
5March 2015.
50 THE EU IN 2015
became more closely involved in policy- and lawmaking. They were consulted on major initiatives
such as the investment plan and the energy union.
Minimum income
The five presidents report recognises the importance of ensuring that every citizen has access to
adequate education and an effective social protection system, including a social protection floor.
These issues are monitored within the framework of the European semester. The Commission works
with Member States to promote adequate minimum-income schemes through its country-specific
recommendations. During the year the Commission also worked on two pilot projects to help develop
minimum-income schemes in the Member States. The European minimum income network is a 2-year
project to build consensus on the steps needed to achieve minimum-income schemes. The European
reference budgets network is an initiative of the Parliament to develop a common methodology and
reference budgets for the capital regions of the Member States.
The Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived

During 2015 the Commission adopted the last remaining national operational programmes for the
Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived. The fund consists of 3.8billion of EU financing, together
with close to 0.7billion of national co-financing, to assist the people most in need in the EU from
2014 to 2020. The fund supports Member States in their efforts to help the EUs most vulnerable
people and those who have been worst affected by the economic and social crisis, and helps to
alleviate the worst forms of material deprivation. It makes a significant contribution in the fight
against poverty and social exclusion through the provision of food, material assistance and social-
inclusion activities to the most deprived.
CHAPTER 6
Under my presidency, the

Commission will negotiate
a reasonable and balanced
trade agreement with the
United States of America,
in a spirit of mutual and
reciprocal benefits and
transparency I will also
be very clear that I will not
sacrifice Europes safety,
health, social and data
protection standards or our
cultural diversity on the altar
of free trade.

guidelines, 15July 2014 A reasonable and
balanced free trade
agreement with the
United States
One of the EUs biggest To address civil-society of EU trade policy. The EU 51
challenges in 2015 concerns the Commission continued to negotiate free
remained the negotiations has ensured that the trade agreements with,
with the United States on negotiations are more among other countries,
the Transatlantic Trade and open and transparent than Japan and Vietnam. The
Investment Partnership. ever before. Throughout agreement with Vietnam
Four rounds of negotiations the year it engaged with was concluded in 2015.
were held during the year, stakeholders, published The EU also participated in
with progress made across negotiating texts and plurilateral negotiations,
a range of areas. The provided detailed under the auspices of the
Commission has been clear information about the World Trade Organisation,
that any agreement needs negotiations. for a Trade in Services
to ensure that the EUs Agreement and an
current high standards of The EU continued to actively Environmental Goods
protection are maintained. implement its trade policy Agreement.
The EUUS economic during the year. It sought
relationship is the biggest to maintain the global
in the world. Independent trading system and played
studies and existing EU an active role in the World
trade agreements suggest Trade Organisation. In the
that a new free trade autumn the Commission
agreement with the United published its new trade and
States would help generate investment strategy.
growth, cut prices and give
consumers more choice of Opening up markets with
goods and services. key partner countries
remained a central element
52 THE EU IN 2015
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

as a motor for jobs and growth
The European Union is one of the worlds most open economies. Open trade strengthens its economy,
creates jobs, gives consumers more choice and buying power and helps firms compete abroad. In
2015 over 31million jobs in the EU were supported by exports to non-EU countries. Trade clearly
has to be a key component in the EUs strategy for jobs and growth. Some 5million jobs in the
Member States are supported by exports to the United States, which constitutes the EUs top export
market. Tightening economic ties with the United States is, therefore, of key importance to the EU.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will not, however, be a deal at any price. The
EU will safeguard regulators independence, the precautionary principle and governments right to
regulate to protect their people and the environment.
A BOOST FOR THE WORLDS STRONGEST ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP
The EU exported around The United States invested a total

314 billion in goods of 1 811 billion in the EU,
and 194 billion making it the EUs top
in services to the United States foreign investor
2014
The EU imported around 196 billion The EU was the top foreign investor
in goods and 188 billion in the United States, with foreign direct
in services from the United States investment stocks of 1 985 billion
World gross
domestic product World imports World exports
46 % 25 % 24 %
The EU and the United States
together accounted for about
half of world gross domestic
product, a quarter
of world imports and a quarter
of world exports
EU/United States EU/United States EU/United States
Source: Eurostat.
Chapter 6 A reasonable and balanced free trade agreement with the United States 53
What the EU negotiated

Throughout the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership the EU continued
to work towards its aims to:
cut tariffs across all sectors;

eliminate barriers to trade behind the customs border;
develop rules to make it easier and fairer to import, export and invest.
Better access to the US market
During the year the EU continued to negotiate better access for EU companies to the US market
by removing customs duties and other barriers to trade, as well as by facilitating new trade and
investment opportunities in new areas. This would apply to all EU companies, however small or large
and whatever they sell.
Through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership EU firms could export more to the United
States and import more of the goods or services they need to make their final products. Services
account for more than 70% of the economy, yet EU firms still face hurdles when they try to sell
their services on the US market. The United States absorbs 13% of the EUs agricultural exports,
especially high-value-added products. The EU would like to see the partnership make it possible for it
to increase these exports further. Under the partnership the European Union also wants firms in the
EU to be able to bid for US government contracts on equal terms with US companies.
Regulatory cooperation cutting red tape and costs without cutting corners
The European Union sought to break new ground for a trade deal by getting regulators in the EU
and the United States to work together much more closely than they do now. To export to the United
States EU firms must follow US rules and meet US standards. Often these rules and standards ensure
the same level of safety or quality but differ in their technical details, such as the colour of wiring
and the plugs and sockets used on either side of the Atlantic. In some cases checks on technical
requirements unnecessarily repeat those already done on the other side of the Atlantic. These factors
can be costly, especially for smaller firms and consumers. Working together on regulations could cut
those costs while upholding the EUs strict levels of protection for people and the environment.
There are many areas in which regulatory cooperation under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership could bring benefits, such as working together better to approve, monitor and recall
medical devices, including pacemakers, scanners and X-ray machines. The EU wants regulators on
both sides of the Atlantic to work more closely together in their efforts to ensure that medicines
available to consumers are safe and effective. To ensure the safety and quality of pharmaceutical
products, EU and US authorities regularly inspect manufacturing sites. Mutual recognition of such
inspections would decrease the burden on producers and make it possible to use EU inspection
resources more efficiently.
The EU continued negotiations to boost food exports, while protecting the EUs strict standards and
respecting its choice on issues such as genetically modified organisms, the use of antimicrobial
treatments and hormones in livestock production.
The EU also continued negotiations with the United States on ways to promote international
cooperation on regulatory issues.
Trade rules for easier export, import and investment

The EU continued its efforts to put in place new, or to further develop, trade rules to help all EU firms
benefit fully from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
54 THE EU IN 2015
Under the partnership the EU aims to:
ensure that smaller companies can benefit fully;

promote free and fair competition, including rules to stop firms colluding to fix prices or abusing
market power;
help firms save time and money on paperwork at customs;

enable firms to access the sustainable energy and raw materials resources they need;
protect EU firms intellectual property;
put sustainable development at the heart of the agreement.
The EU wants firms to invest with confidence, knowing they have protection if things go wrong.
The public consultation on the investorstate dispute settlement mechanism showed that there was
a widespread lack of trust in the fairness and impartiality of the mechanism proposed. Based on
substantial input received from the European Parliament, Member States, national parliaments and
stakeholders, in September the Commission proposed a new Investment Court System to replace the
investorstate dispute settlement mechanism in all ongoing and future EU investment negotiations,
including the talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Built around the same key
elements as domestic and international courts, the Investment Court System enshrines governments
right to regulate and ensures transparency and accountability.
How the negotiations were conducted

The Commission negotiated the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on the basis of
a mandate agreed unanimously by the governments of all of the Member States and supported
by the European Parliament. Negotiations began in June 2013. The Commission and the United
States held four rounds of talks in 2015. They were held in February and July in Brussels, in
April in New York and in October in Miami. The talks will continue in 2016. The negotiators made
progress across a range of areas. Although the aim was to reach an agreement rapidly the EU
always made it clear that getting a good agreement was more important than simply concluding
negotiations as quickly as possible.
On its dedicated website the Commission published its initial proposals for legal text, as well as
position papers that set out and described the EUs approach on all the areas under negotiation.
In addition the Commission published hundreds of documents about the partnership, explaining
the aims and potential content of the agreement. These actions continued as negotiations
progressed and, together, made the negotiations the most transparent ever undertaken for an
EU trade agreement.
Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrm

presents the latest developments in
the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership negotiations, European
Parliament, Strasbourg, 7July2015.
Chapter 6 A reasonable and balanced free trade agreement with the United States 55
As is usual when negotiating a trade agreement, the Commission used the weekly meetings of
the Councils Trade Policy Committee to keep the governments of the Member States informed
of progress in the negotiations. The Commission also kept the Parliament, and in particular its
International Trade Committee, abreast of the negotiations. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrm
and the EUs negotiators appeared regularly before the Parliament and its committees. Member
States and members of the European Parliament had access to the negotiating documents in line
with the practices agreed with them.
This provided democratic oversight throughout the negotiations. It ensured that both the governments
of the 28 Member States and the directly elected members of the European Parliament were
fully informed about the state of play of the negotiations, as well as about the EUs negotiating
positions. The Parliament followed the talks closely, with 14 of its committees drafting reports on the
negotiations. In July the Parliament approved a resolution reaffirming its support for the negotiations,
together with a series of recommendations to the Commission.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations attracted considerable public and
media interest. The Commission welcomed discussions about the proposed agreement. It was
particularly active in publicising the talks and explaining what the EU sought to get out of them. It
also addressed concerns about claimed negative impacts of the partnership. The Commission made
a significant effort to ensure that any interested stakeholder could engage directly with negotiators.
For example, within the resources available, it made its negotiating team and other staff available to
accept invitations to public meetings and debates throughout the EU, organised by parliamentarians,
national, regional and local authorities and interest groups.
Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrm discusses

the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership during a citizens dialogue in
Warsaw, Poland, 18 September 2015.
During each negotiating round EU and US negotiators convened joint meetings with hundreds of
stakeholders. At these gatherings participants were able to engage in an exchange of views with
negotiators and to put forward their positions. As part of its longstanding structured dialogue with
civil society, following the rounds held in the United States in April and October the Commission held
meetings in Brussels, in May and December respectively, with well over 100 representatives of a
wide range of organisations. In May the Commission also held a civil-society dialogue meeting on
the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and health, attended by 133 representatives of a
broad range of organisations. In the course of the negotiations the Commission drew on a 16-strong
Advisory Group it had set up especially to provide additional expert input for EU negotiators. The
group comprises men and women representing interests from environmental, health, consumer and
workers groups to various business sectors.
Once a final text has been agreed it will only enter into force if it is approved by the Parliament and
the Council.
56 THE EU IN 2015
World trade in general

The EU is the largest exporter and importer of goods and services in the world. Small and medium-
sized businesses play an important role, with over 600000 of them accounting for one third of
total EU exports. EU exports provide jobs for 31million EU residents, 6million of them in small and
medium-sized enterprises. Overall, one in seven jobs in the EU depends on exports.
EU trade policy aims to ensure an open international trading system based on rules and to open up
new markets for exports. At the same time an open trading system helps to ensure access by EU firms
to the raw materials, components and services they need. This is vital in todays world of global value
chains, in which most finished goods incorporate value added in several countries.
In the autumn the Commission published its new trade and investment strategy. The EU continued
to be actively engaged in many ongoing multilateral or plurilateral trade initiatives. It remained
committed to making progress in the negotiations in the World Trade Organisation, including at the
Nairobi Ministerial Conference in December. In 2015 the EU agreed a 1trillion trade deal with China,
the United States and the vast majority of the World Trade Organisations members to eliminate
customs duties on 201 high-tech products. The EU continued to be a leading participant in the ongoing
plurilateral trade talks for a Trade in Services Agreement between 23 members of the World Trade
Organisation. In July, together with 13 other World Trade Organisation members, the EU launched
negotiations to remove barriers to trade and investment in green goods, services and technologies.
At bilateral level, in August the EU reached political agreement with Vietnam on a free trade
agreement. Negotiations progressed for a free trade agreement with Japan and for an investment
agreement with China. In May the EU and Mexico agreed to prepare for the launch of negotiations to
upgrade their free trade agreement from 2000. In December the EU launched negotiations for a free
trade agreement with the Philippines. The EU, Russia and Ukraine continued to seek solutions to the
concerns raised by Russia regarding the implementation of the EUUkraine Association Agreement/
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. They identified a number of potential practical
solutions and agreed to continue talks.
CHAPTER 7
I intend to make use of

the prerogatives of the
Commission to uphold, within
our field of competence, our
shared values, the rule of
law and fundamental rights,
while taking due account of
the diversity of constitutional
and cultural traditions of the
28 Member States.

An area of justice and

fundamental rights
based on mutual trust
Throughout 2015 the EU States resolved to work EUUS data protection 57

continued to develop its together to defeat terrorism. umbrella agreement. The
justice, fundamental rights They took steps to counter agreement will protect
and citizenship policies. radicalisation, cut terrorist personal data transferred
These are based on the EUs financing and enhance the between the European
core values of democracy, cooperation between the EUs Union and the United
freedom, tolerance and law enforcement agency, States for the prevention,
the rule of law. EU citizens Europol, and its judicial detection, investigation
must have full confidence cooperation agency, Eurojust. and prosecution of criminal
that, wherever they are in offences, including terrorism.
the European Union, their In the area of justice the It will also enable EU
freedom and security are Commission delivered on citizens to benefit from the
well protected. its commitment to finalise possibility of seeking judicial
EU data protection reform, redress in the United States
In April the Commission ensuring better protection of under US law.
presented a European citizens personal data (see
agenda on security. The Chapter 2). The Commission
agenda focuses on areas also made progress towards
where the EU can make a the establishment of the
difference, such as better European Public Prosecutors
exchange of information Office, which will investigate
and strengthened police and and prosecute EU fraud
judicial cooperation. affecting the Unions
financial interests.
Following the terrorist
attacks in Paris in January The Commission finalised
and November the Member negotiations on an
58 THE EU IN 2015
A European agenda on security

Since December 2014 police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters have fallen within the
normal EU legal order. In April 2015 the Commission proposed a European agenda on security for the
2015-2020 period. The agenda will support Member States cooperation in tackling security threats
and step up common efforts in the fight against terrorism, organised crime and cybercrime. The
agenda sets out measures to ensure security and tackle pressing threats more effectively.
One of the key priorities of the agenda is to set up a centre of excellence to collect and disseminate
expertise on anti-radicalisation. This will build upon the work carried out by the Radicalisation
Awareness Network. The centre will focus on strengthening the exchange of experience between
practitioners engaged in preventing radicalisation and violent extremism at local level.
In addition the agenda provides for the updating in 2016 of the framework decision on terrorism, in
order to deal more effectively with the foreign-fighter phenomenon and to intensify cooperation with
non-EU countries on this issue.
In December, in line with the European agenda on security and in response to the Paris attacks in
November, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on combating terrorism.
Preventing the laundering of criminal proceeds and cutting off the financing of terrorist organisations
are cornerstones of the European agenda on security. The Commission has proposed to expand the
cooperation between authorities in the EU in order to cut off sources of finance to criminals. The
anti-money laundering package, adopted in May, focuses on greater effectiveness and improved
transparency to close loopholes and prevent criminals and terrorists from abusing the financial
system.
Countering terrorist propaganda on the internet is another priority of the European agenda on
security. The Commission enhanced its dialogue with the information technology industry regarding
hate speech and online incitement to violence and hatred.
Identifying ways to overcome obstacles to criminal investigations online and reinforcing existing tools
to fight cybercrime are other priorities of the agenda.
Finally, the agenda proposes enhancing Europols capacities through the creation of a European
Counter-Terrorism Centre. The centre will help the agency increase its support for actions by national
law enforcement authorities to tackle foreign terrorist fighters, terrorist financing, violent extremist
content online and the illicit trafficking of firearms.
Criminal justice
Setting up the European Public Prosecutors Office
Every year more than 500million is lost to fraud. The aim of the European Public Prosecutors Office
is to investigate and prosecute, in the Member States courts, crimes affecting the EU budget.
At the Justice and Home Affairs Councils held in 2015 Member States showed their support for the
provisions governing the structure of the European Public Prosecutors Office, for its selection and
appointment procedures, for the measures governing its investigations and for the offices sphere of
competence.
Reform of Eurojust
In parallel with the proposed establishment of the European Public Prosecutors Office, the Commission
proposed a reform of Eurojust. The proposal aims to further improve the agencys overall functioning
Chapter 7 An area of justice and fundamental rights based on mutual trust 59
DISRUPTING ORGANISED CRIME
Making full use Preventing and Reinforcing Reducing access

of joint intervention fighting trafficking the power to firearms
teams and involving in human beings of financial by criminals
neighbouring and protecting intelligence units and terrorists:
countries the victims: revision of
a post-2016 the legislation
strategy on on firearms
human trafficking
and ensure that it remains focused on encouraging cooperation between national judicial authorities
in the fight against serious crime.
Strengthening the criminal justice response to radicalisation

In October the Commission hosted a ministerial conference on the Criminal Justice Response to
Radicalisation. The Commission will earmark funding for the implementation of the Council
conclusions enacting the conference outcomes, focusing on such actions as setting up deradicalisation
programmes and developing risk assessment tools.
Commissioner Vra Jourov addresses

the high-level ministerial conference
on the Criminal Justice Response to
Radicalisation, Brussels, 19 October
2015.
60 THE EU IN 2015
More safeguards for citizens in criminal proceedings

In 2013 the Commission presented a package of proposals to further strengthen procedural
safeguards for citizens in criminal proceedings in order to guarantee fair trial rights for all citizens in
the European Union.
These proposals aim to ensure the presumption of innocence and the right to be present at trial.
They provide for special safeguards for children facing criminal proceedings. They also guarantee
the access of suspects and the accused to provisional legal aid, especially for people subject to a
European Arrest Warrant.
The Parliament, the Council and the Commission started negotiations on the three proposals in 2015.
In November they reached agreement regarding the presumption of innocence.
Better protection of victims rights

The victims rights directive entered into force in November. It lays down the right to information,
support, protection and participation in criminal proceedings and ensures that victims are treated in a
respectful and non-discriminatory manner. The new rules will help change attitudes towards victims
and place victims at the centre of criminal proceedings.
Fundamental rights and judicial systems

EU data protection
In 2015 the Parliament and the Council intensified their work on reforming the data protection
legislation. The discussions covered the general data protection regulation and the data protection
directive for the police and criminal justice authorities. Agreement was reached on the entire reform
package in December.
Koen Lenaerts took office as

President of the Court of Justice on
8October2015.
In September the Commission finalised the negotiations on the so-called umbrella agreement with
the United States on the protection of personal data when transferred for law enforcement purposes,
including terrorism. For the umbrella agreement to become applicable the United States will first have
to adopt its Judicial Redress Bill, after which the EU will be able to sign the agreement.
Following the judgment by the Court of Justice declaring the Commissions US safe-harbour decision
invalid, negotiations continued on a new data protection framework for business-to-business transfers
of personal data, to replace the safe-harbour adequacy decision of 2000. Safe harbour is a specific
framework put in place to simplify the transfer of personal data between the European Union and the
United States. The Court of Justice declared in October that the safe-harbour framework violates the
fundamental right to privacy and annulled the Commissions decision. The Commission immediately
issued guidance on the possibilities of transatlantic data transfers following the ruling and committed
itself to continuing its work towards a renewed and safe framework for the transfer of personal data
across the Atlantic.
The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism

for Romania and Bulgaria
In January 2015 the Commission reported on progress achieved by Romania and Bulgaria in the
areas of judicial reform and the fight against corruption and, for Bulgaria, organised crime.
The January reports concluded that, although there had been progress in 2014, challenges remained.
The reports were also discussed in the Parliament and in the Council, which concluded that the
mechanism will stay in place until the expected results are achieved.
Justice for growth

The EU justice scoreboard
Enhancing the quality, independence and efficiency of Member States justice systems is a prerequisite
for a business-friendly environment. Making national justice systems more efficient is therefore a key
part of the structural reforms provided for in the European semester. The 2015 EU justice scoreboard,
together with the country-specific assessments, shows that certain Member States are still facing
particular challenges in this area.
Insolvency
More and more companies and individuals are setting up businesses in other Member States. If they
become insolvent this may affect the proper functioning of the internal market.
In May the EU adopted the revised law on cross-border insolvencies. It clarifies the rules on insolvencies
of groups of companies and pre-insolvency procedures.
European small claims

In December the proposal for the revision of the European small claims procedure was adopted
at first reading. This revision will allow consumers and businesses in the EU, in particular small
and medium-sized enterprises, to recover claims of up to 5000 across borders. Greater use of
electronic means of communication will simplify proceedings and make them faster and cheaper. The
amendment will enter into application in mid 2017.
Shareholder rights
The revision of the shareholder rights directive is currently being negotiated between the Parliament,
the Council and the Commission. It tackles corporate governance shortcomings relating to listed
companies and their boards, shareholders, intermediaries and proxy advisers. It standardises the
creation of companies with a single shareholder and makes it easier for small and medium-sized
enterprises to operate across the EU.
Single-member companies
The proposal for a law on single-member private limited liability companies aims to standardise the
creation of companies with a single shareholder. The proposal is currently being negotiated by the
Parliament and the Council.
62 THE EU IN 2015
Interconnection of business registers

In June a framework was adopted to implement technical specifications and procedures for the system
of interconnection of business registers. The interconnection will be implemented by June 2017 and
will open up access, via the European e-Justice Portal, to information on companies registered across
the EU. This will make it easier for businesses and citizens to retrieve such information.
The free movement of persons

The free movement of persons is a fundamental right guaranteed by the EU to its citizens and their
family members. It entitles every EU citizen to travel, work and live in any Member State, without
special formalities.
In 2014 over 14million EU citizens lived in a Member State other than their own. Although people
frequently need to prove their civil status, getting official documents recognised in another Member
State remains difficult.
In October the Parliament and the Council agreed on simplifying the circulation of public documents
between Member States. Formal adoption of the regulation is planned for the first half of 2016.
Protecting fundamental rights and consumer rights

Respecting and promoting fundamental rights
In May the Commission adopted its 2014 annual report on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The
report on the charter was accompanied by a document that illustrates how it was applied in 2014 at
EU and national levels.
In October the Commission hosted its first Annual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights, on the subject
of Tolerance and Respect: Preventing and Combating Anti-Semitic and Anti-Muslim Hatred in Europe.
Its conclusions set out actions such as preventing and combating anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hatred
in the area of education and fighting hate crime and hate speech. In December the Commission
appointed two coordinators one for combating anti-Semitism and one for combating anti-Muslim
hatred.
Enforcing consumer rights

Thanks to a joint action between some national enforcement authorities, which was facilitated by
the Commission in July, five major car rental companies pledged to change the way they deal with
consumers. Insurance policies will be easier to understand, price transparency will be promoted and
the process of handling damages will be fairer.
Solving online disputes is becoming faster and less expensive

During the year the Commission developed and tested the EU-wide online dispute resolution platform.
This platform will, from early 2016 onwards, help EU consumers and traders solve their contractual
disputes about goods and services bought online much more rapidly and cheaply than in court.
Greater protection while travelling

The new package travel directive was adopted in 2015 and will enter into force in 2018. The new
rules will extend cover beyond traditional package holidays to also protect the 120million consumers
who book other forms of combined travel on a website, such as a self-chosen combination of a flight
plus hotel or car rental.
THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE
Customised
combinations
Prearranged Combinations Combinations Independent

packages arranged at arranged travel
single point via linked arrangements
of sale websites
23 % 17 % 6% 54 %
of the market share
Current Covered
Legal
rules by existing grey area
rules Covered by other
EU legislation,
e.g. consumer
rights directive
or air passenger rules
Protected Protected as linked

as packages travel arrangements
New
rules
Covered under new EU package travel rules
Passengers rights
In March the Commission published a report that showed that only five Member States apply the
regulation on rail passengers rights and obligations in full. The Commission adopted guidelines
in July to clarify rules on rail passengers rights. It also called for the stricter enforcement of air
passengers rights.
Consular protection
In April the Council adopted the directive on consular protection. It clarifies when and how EU citizens
in distress in a country outside the EU have the right to call on other Member States embassies or
consulates for help. Throughout 2015 EU citizens benefited from consular protection from a Member
State other than their own, including during crisis situations such as in Nepal and Yemen. Assistance
was also provided to EU citizens in cases of loss or theft of documents.
64 THE EU IN 2015
Gender equality
The proposed directive to improve gender balance on company boards progressed during 2015. Once
adopted the directive will help break the glass ceiling by ensuring fair and transparent selection
procedures to increase the share of the under-represented gender on boards.
The annual report on equality between women and men for 2014 showed that, despite progress,
gender gaps remain.
In early 2015 the Commission issued policy orientations and a call for action to Member States and
the EU institutions to reduce the current gender pension gap of 39%.
CHAPTER 8
The recent terrible events

in the Mediterranean have
shown us that Europe
needs to manage migration
better, in all aspects. This is
first of all a humanitarian
imperative. I am convinced
that we must work closely
together in a spirit of
solidarity.

Towards a new policy

on migration
In 2015 the world was management. The agenda camps outside the EU. By 65
shocked by the plight of aims to reduce the tripling the funding for its
thousands of refugees incentives for irregular maritime patrolling assets
putting their lives at risk to migration, save lives and on the central and eastern
enter the EU. Throughout secure the external borders Mediterranean migratory
the year Europe witnessed of the EU. It provides for the routes the EU contributed to
one of the biggest mass development of a strong saving over 252000 lives.
migrations of people since common asylum policy It also redoubled its efforts
the Second World War. The and a new policy on legal to tackle smugglers and
EU stepped up its efforts migration. dismantle human trafficking
to save lives, fight human groups. The EU mobilised
trafficking and cooperate In September the around 4billion to help
with countries of origin and Commission mobilised Syrian refugees both in
transit. It also launched an extra 1.8billion to Syria and in neighbouring
initiatives to tackle the root address migration and the countries. In October
causes that force people refugee crisis. By doing Commission President
to escape and migrate. so it increased the total Juncker called a leaders
These include poverty, wars, EU budget for tackling meeting on refugee flows
persecution, violations of the crisis to 9.3billion along the western Balkans
human rights and natural for 2015-2016. Member route.
disasters. States agreed to relocate
160000 people in need
In May the Commission of international protection
presented the European from those Member States
agenda for migration, most affected to others.
setting out a comprehensive They also agreed to resettle
approach to migration 22000 refugees from
66 THE EU IN 2015
The European agenda on migration

In May the Commission presented the new European agenda on migration, which outlined the
immediate measures to be taken to respond to the crisis situation in the Mediterranean as well as
a long-term and comprehensive approach to managing migration. The agenda built on a 10-point
action plan on migration adopted in April. By the end of May the first proposals under the agenda
were adopted.
The Commission proposed to use the emergency response mechanism under Article78(3) of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to set up an emergency relocation scheme to assist
Italy and Greece. As part of the common policy on asylum, Article78(3) provides a specific legal basis
to deal with emergency situations. Based on a proposal by the Commission, it enables the Council,
after consulting the Parliament, to adopt provisional measures for the benefit of Member State(s)
confronted with an emergency situation characterised by a sudden inflow of nationals of non-EU
countries into one or more Member States. The provisional measures envisaged by Article78(3) are
exceptional in nature. They can only be triggered when a certain threshold of urgency and severity
is met. Under the proposed scheme people in need of international protection would be relocated to
other Member States.
The Commission also adopted a recommendation asking Member States to resettle 20000 people
from outside the EU who are in clear need of international protection, as identified by the United
Nations Refugee Agency. Member States agreed to this resettlement in July and pledged to resettle
over 22500 people in clear need of international protection over the course of 2015-2017.
The Commission proposed an EU action plan against migrant smuggling for 2015-2020. This plan
set out actions to prevent and counter migrant smuggling along the entire migratory route, including
setting up a list of suspicious vessels and enhancing cooperation and the exchange of information
with financial institutions. It also put in place cooperation with internet service providers and social
media to ensure that internet content used by smugglers to advertise their activities is swiftly
detected and removed.
NUMBER OF ASYLUM APPLICATIONS IN THE EU
1 200 000
1 000 000
1 027 835
627 780
800 000
432 055
424 180
421 470
406 585
600 000
380 450
344 800
336 015
313 645
309 820
276 675
266 395
260 835
234 675
226 330
222 635
197 410
400 000
200 000
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
(Jan.-
Oct.*)
Note: Methodologies used by Member States prior to 2008 and aer the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 in January 2008 may differ.
* Provisional data.
Source: Eurostat.
Chapter 8 Towards a new policy on migration 67
For the common European asylum system to work effectively migrants need to be systematically
fingerprinted upon arrival at the external borders of the EU. To this end the Commission published
guidelines for Member States that set out best practices for fingerprinting. In addition migration
management support teams from the European Asylum Support Office, Frontex (the EUs border
agency) and Europol (the EUs law enforcement agency) work on the ground to identify, register and
fingerprint incoming migrants in the so-called hotspot areas. In doing so they ensure that operations
are conducted in full respect of fundamental rights and international refugee law standards. By the
end of 2015 six hotspots had been identified in Italy and five in Greece, of which two had become
operational in Italy (Lampedusa and Trapani) and one in Greece (Lesvos/Moria).
The hotspot operations are part of the balanced management of migrant inflows. They are closely
linked to the relocation process (distribution of asylum seekers to other Member States), as well as
to the return process for migrants not entitled to international protection (travel back to their country
of origin).
One of the immediate responses included in the agenda on migration was the tripling of financial
allocations to reinforce the capacities and assets of Frontexs Triton and Poseidon Joint Operations
in 2015 and 2016. At the end of December the Poseidon Joint Operation was transformed into the
Rapid Border Intervention. An additional 27.4million was allocated to Frontex in 2015, and the
Commission will provide an additional 129.9million in 2016.
New operational plans for the reinforced joint operations pursued the dual objectives of
assisting Member States in search and rescue operations at sea while ensuring the effective
control of the EUs external borders. The operational area of Triton was extended and the
number of assets was reinforced, which resulted in a huge rise in the number of migrants
rescued at sea. The number of migrants rescued through Triton and Poseidon Joint Operations
was over 252000 in 2015.
In addition the new intelligence-led Joint Operational Team Mare was launched in March. Joint
Operational Team Mare combats irregular migration in the Mediterranean by tackling organised
criminal groups who facilitate migrants journeys to the EU by ship.
THE EUROPEAN AGENDA ON MIGRATION
Rescue Resettlement Relocation Assistance
Sets out long-term steps to manage migration in all its aspects
A strong common A new EU policy Fighting Securing the EUs

asylum system on legal migration irregular migration external borders
and human smuggling

68 THE EU IN 2015
The Triton Joint Operation was carried out

throughout 2015, coordinated by the EUs
border agency, Frontex.
In light of the gravity of the situation, in September the Commission detailed a set of priority actions
to be taken within the following 6months to implement the European agenda on migration. The
Commission presented a report on the progress made in implementing the priority actions 3weeks
later.
Further Commission proposals as the refugee crisis evolved

A second set of proposals was adopted by the European Council in September. This package
included an additional activation of the emergency response mechanism for the benefit of
Greece, Italy and Hungary. It was proposed that a further 120000 asylum seekers in clear need
of protection should be relocated from Greece, Italy and Hungary on the basis of a mandatory
distribution key. During 2015 the European Council agreed to relocate a total of 160000 people
in clear need of international protection in the coming 2years. The Commission and the EU
agencies, together with the Member States, will organise the necessary coordination to implement
the mechanism on the ground. The EU budget will provide dedicated funding of 780million to
support the scheme.
Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos

speaking with refugees in Lampedusa,
Italy, 9 October2015.
The Commission also proposed the establishment of a structural crisis relocation mechanism. This is
a temporary solidarity mechanism that could be triggered whenever necessary by the Commission
to help any Member State experiencing extreme pressure on its asylum system as a result of a large
and disproportionate inflow of non-EU nationals.
The Commission further proposed a regulation aiming to establish an EU common list of safe countries
of origin. Such a list will allow for the swifter processing of individual asylum applications from
candidates originating from countries considered to be safe, and for faster returns if the individual
assessments confirm no right of asylum. Based on the Copenhagen criteria the Commission proposed
to put Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo (this
designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1244/1999 and the International Court of Justice Opinion on the Kosovo declaration
EU Heads of State or Government

discuss the refugee crisis at
the European Council, Brussels,
15October2015.
of independence), Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey on the EU list of safe countries of origin. In future
other countries may be added to or removed from the list following a thorough assessment by the
Commission.
With a view to increasing the return rates of irregular migrants to their home countries in the short and
medium term, the Commission proposed an EU action plan on return. This seeks the full application
of the EU return directive. The proposals will be applied by the Commission, the Member States and
the relevant EU agencies. Together with the European External Action Service the Commission will
also step up efforts to ensure that countries of origin follow up on their commitments to readmit
their nationals under existing readmission agreements. The action plan was endorsed by the Council
in October.
A joint action plan was agreed with Turkey in October and activated by the EUTurkey Summit in
November. The action plan is part of a comprehensive cooperation agenda based on shared
responsibility, mutual commitments and delivery. The Commission proposed a Refugee Facility
for Turkey to coordinate a total EU contribution of 3billion to provide support to Syrians under
temporary protection and host communities in Turkey. In December the Commission proposed a
voluntary humanitarian admission scheme with Turkey for persons displaced by the conflict in
Syria.
Donald Tusk, President of the European

Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President
of the European Commission, at the start
of the leaders meeting on the western
Balkans route, Brussels, 25 October 2015.
In October President Juncker called a leaders meeting on refugee flows along the western Balkans
route. Heads of State or Government from 11 Member States attended the meeting and adopted a
plan of action. Immediately after the leaders meeting all participants appointed high-level contact
points to coordinate the follow-up actions through weekly videoconferences organised by the
Commission. A shared tool to provide information on daily migration flows was established and
Member States on the route improved their coordination. In December the Commission published
a progress report on measures taken to tackle the refugee and migration crisis along the western
Balkans route.
70 THE EU IN 2015
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS WESTERN BALKANS MIGRATORY ROUTE
700 000
316 767
Iraq, 3 %
204 912
Other, 8 %
Pakistan,
8% 213 547
34 131
Kosovo, 6 280
280 729
12 % 5 293
2 424 2 801
Syria, 43 %
5 440
434 318
Detected
Afghanistan, 26 % attempts
57 981
479 047
Land border
Sea border
700 000 Number of detections
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS SUPPORT FOR NON-EU COUNTRIES
Humanitarian aid EU Trust Fund EU Emergency Trust

for Syria Fund for Africa
+ 500 million + 1 billion + 3.6 billion
200 million for organisations EU 500 million EU 1.8 billion

such as the World Food
Programme/United Nations High Member States 500 million Member States 1.8 billion
Commissioner for Refugees
300 million in humanitarian aid

in 2016

Addressing the root causes of migration

During summer 2015 the EU reached out to countries of transit and origin of migrants in an
unprecedented way. Migration has become a specific component of ongoing common security and
defence policy missions already deployed in countries like Mali and Niger, where more focus was put
on border management. A new dialogue with Sahel countries began, focusing on issues such as the
control of borders, the fight against international crime networks and development.
The Commission allocated 1.8billion to set up an Emergency Trust Fund for Africa to help
address the root causes of migration throughout the continent. The fund pools money from
different financial instruments under the EU budget and will also rely on contributions from
Member States. The EU mobilised around 4billion to help Syrian refugees both in Syria and
in neighbouring countries. At the same time the Commission supported United Nations-led
diplomatic efforts to move towards a political transition for Syria and stop the conflict there. The
same goes for Libya, where the EU has worked with the United Nations to promote the formation
of a government of national accord.
Legal migration
Legal channels for immigration and transparent, easy and fair procedures for regular migrants
contribute to the prevention of irregular migration and migrant smuggling. The European agenda on
migration aims to improve the management of legal migration at EU level in order to better address
labour and skills shortages, particularly in sectors such as science, technology and engineering. It also
aims to make the EU more attractive for highly skilled migrants.
The Commission launched a public consultation in May with a view to revising the existing EU Blue
card scheme, which is currently underused. The scheme facilitates the recruitment of highly qualified
non-EU nationals through a harmonised fast-track procedure for issuing a special residence and work
permit. The results of the consultation will feed into the revision of the Blue card scheme in 2016 as
part of a comprehensive package on legal migration.
The EU has entered into a dialogue with the private sector, trade unions and other social partners
to better understand the varying needs of Europes economy and labour markets. The dialogue
also provides for the exchange of best practices for attracting skills from abroad, as well as better
developing and employing the skills of those who have already arrived.
Borders and visas

In 2015 the first Schengen acquis implementation evaluations were carried out in accordance with
the new evaluation and monitoring mechanism. In June the Commission adopted a proposal for a
new European visa sticker, the uniform format and technical specifications of which will help fight
fraud, which has been on the rise in recent years. It will replace the current uniform visa format, which
Member States use when issuing the so-called Schengen visa (short-stay visa). The current format
has been in use since 1995.
The worldwide roll-out of the visa information system was completed in November 2015. The
visa information system database now contains all data related to visa applications by non-EU
nationals who require a visa to enter the Schengen area, including biometric data (fingerprints
and a digital facial image). The system prevents irregular border crossings and the forgery of
Schengen visas, and also allows for visa applications to be processed more rapidly thanks to the
use of biometrics.
During 2015 the EU signed visa waiver agreements with 12 non-EU countries (Colombia, Dominica,
Grenada, Palau, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad
and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu). These agreements are now being applied on
a provisional basis, pending their ratification. This means that nationals from these 12 countries
can already travel without a visa to the EU and that EU citizens do not need a visa to visit these
countries.
72 THE EU IN 2015
ENTERING THE EU BORDERS AND VISAS

The Schengen area of free movement
An area without borders where EU citizens and non-EU nationals may move freely
AT: Austria
BE: Belgium
BG: Bulgaria IS
CH: Switzerland Azores (PT)
CY: Cyprus Madeira (PT)
CZ: Czech Republic EU Schengen
DE: Germany states
DK: Denmark Non-Schengen FI Canary Islands (ES)
EU states SE
EE: Estonia NO
EL: Greece Non-EU Schengen
ES: Spain states
FI: Finland EE
FR: France LV
HR: Croatia DK
IE LT
HU: Hungary
IE: Ireland UK
IS: Iceland NL
IT: Italy PL
BE DE
LI: Liechtenstein
LU
LT: Lithuania CZ
LU: Luxembourg LI SK
LV: Latvia FR AT
CH
HU
MT: Malta SI HR RO
NL: Netherlands
NO: Norway
PL: Poland PT ES IT
BG
PT: Portugal
RO: Romania
SE: Sweden EL
SI: Slovenia
SK: Slovakia
UK: United Kingdom MT CY
In July the Commission launched a public consultation on the smart borders package. The aim of
this package is to facilitate the border crossing of legitimate travellers entering the Schengen area
for a short stay while increasing the possibility of identifying overstayers and irregular migrants and
implementing return decisions. It will also ensure better identification of non-EU nationals and allow
the detection of people using several identities.
In October the European Council set out further orientations, including work towards the gradual
establishment of an integrated management system for external borders. In December the
Commission adopted the border package, containing, among other items, a proposal establishing
the European Border and Coast Guard, thus reinforcing Frontexs mandate to ensure the strong and
shared management of the external borders. A new European Border and Coast Guard Agency will
be created from Frontex and the Member State authorities responsible for border control in order
to exercise day-to-day management of the external border. The package also contains a proposal
for a regulation on a European travel document for the return of illegally staying non-EU nationals,
the Eurosur handbook and the eighth biannual report on the functioning of the Schengen area.
Furthermore, to increase security in the Schengen area, the package includes an amendment to the
Schengen Borders Code allowing for systematic checks at external borders on all travellers, including
EU citizens and their family members.
Fighting smugglers at sea: Operation Eunavfor Med

In June Operation Eunavfor Med was launched to disrupt the business model of human smuggling
in the Mediterranean and to help prevent the further loss of lives at sea. Its first phase gathered
intelligence on the smugglers strategies, routes and assets. Phase two, Operation Sophia, with a
mandate to intercept and arrest suspected smugglers vessels on the high seas, began in October.
Some 22 Member States contributed to Eunavfor Med with assets, personnel and resources.
CHAPTER 9
We need a stronger Europe

when it comes to foreign
policy. The Ukraine crisis
and the worrying situation
in the Middle East show how
important it is that Europe is
united externally.

A stronger global
actor
In July 2015, following of people were forced multilateral forums and

74 years of EU-led diplomacy, to flee their homes. The the European Instrument
a historic international EU continued to provide for Democracy and Human
agreement was reached on humanitarian aid to people Rights.
Irans nuclear programme. displaced by conflict, tackle
The EU, together with China, the root causes of crises 2015 was also the European
France, Germany, Russia, and assist those trying to Year for Development. With
the United Kingdom and the flee war zones. the political support of the
United States, brokered the EU and its Member States,
agreement. Iran pledged During the year the the United Nations General
that under no circumstances Commissions Directorate- Assembly adopted new
would it ever seek, develop General for Humanitarian sustainable development
or acquire nuclear weapons. Aid and Civil Protection goals. These set out a
(ECHO) provided food, global framework to achieve
Throughout the year the EU shelter, protection, sustainable development
continued to play a leading healthcare and clean water and poverty eradication.
role in international efforts to more than 120million The EU remained the
to solve crises in Iraq, people affected by natural worlds largest donor of
Libya, Syria and Ukraine. disasters or conflict in development assistance
It worked tirelessly with over 80 countries. The EU in2015.
its international partners also remained committed
against the activities of ISIL/ to promoting respect for
Daesh. human rights across the
world and promoting
Due to the above crises, international law through
in particular the war in dedicated human rights
Syria, an increasing number dialogues, advocacy in
Chapter 9 A stronger global actor 75
European neighbourhood policy

Through its European neighbourhood policy the EU works with its southern and eastern neighbours
towards closer political association and economic integration.
THE EU IS AN ECONOMIC HEAVYWEIGHT
Global gross domestic product
Other, EU-28, 1/4 of world

32 % 24 % gross domestic
product
56 246
billion
Brazil,
3%
India, United States,

3% 22 %
Russia, China,
3% 13 %
The worlds largest

trading block
The top trading partner The worlds The worlds largest
The worlds
for 80 countries third largest aid donor
largest source
energy producer 58.2 billion
and destination
of foreign direct provided
investment by the EU and
the Member States
Source: Eurostat, figures for 2013 and 2014.
Eastern neighbourhood
The Riga Eastern Partnership Summit in May provided further momentum to the EUs relations with its
six eastern partners. The EU has signed association agreements with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine,
including provisions establishing deep and comprehensive free trade agreements.
The EU is implementing a number of measures to support the reform process, including an 11billion
support package announced in March 2014, of which over 6billion had already been mobilised by
mid 2015. In addition, as part of a broader peace process in Ukraine, the EU continued to engage in
talks on gas deliveries and on practical aspects of the implementation of the deep and comprehensive
free trade agreements. It also continued to push for the implementation of the Minsk agreements and
the application of sanctions against Russia.
76 THE EU IN 2015
Southern neighbourhood
Negotiations for a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement with Tunisia were launched in October,
with one negotiating round already held before the end of the year. Progress in the negotiations for a
deep and comprehensive free trade agreement with Morocco was limited in 2015. The preparatory
process for launching deep and comprehensive free trade agreement negotiations with Jordan also
continued.
Martin Schulz, President of the European

Parliament (third from left), Donald Tusk,
President of the European Council (fourth
from left), and Jean-Claude Juncker,
President of the European Commission
(right), with European and African Heads
of State or Government at the Valletta
Summit on migration, Valletta, Malta,
11November 2015.
The Valletta Summit on Migration in November brought together the leaders of EU and key African
countries in order to discuss migration challenges. The summit resulted in the EU setting up an
Emergency Trust Fund to promote development in Africa, in return for African countries helping out
with the current migration crisis. The fund pledged 1.8billion in aid, together with other development
assistance of 20billion per year.
Libya
The EU supported the United Nations-led talks on reconciling the various factions in Libya. In addition
to constant political support for the United Nations Secretary-Generals envoy, Martin Kobler, the EU
hosted dialogue meetings and provided financial support (4million) to keep talks afloat.
Enlargement negotiations and the western Balkans

The EU continued to assist those countries with a perspective of joining the EU in implementing the
reforms necessary to meet membership criteria, with a view to promoting stability, security and
prosperity in Europe.
Commissioner Johannes Hahn and

Aleksandar Vui, Prime Minister of
Serbia, on the eve of the opening of
the first chapter of Serbias accession
negotiation process, Belgrade,
10December 2015.
The EU played a crucial role in the landmark achievement of the normalisation of relations between
Kosovo and Serbia, with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy/Commission Vice-President Federica Mogherini leading several rounds of the BelgradePristina
dialogue.
The EU also played an important role in the political stabilisation and reform of the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, as well as in the agreement reached by the main political parties to overcome
the political stalemate in the country.
Turkey
Presidents Schulz, Tusk and Juncker met with Turkish President Erdoan in October 2015 to discuss
EUTurkey relations, and specifically the management of refugees and migrant flows. President
Schulz visited Turkey in April, while President Tusk visited in September and, together with President
Juncker, again in November, to attend the G20 Summit in Antalya. The EU and Turkey also engaged
in political dialogue on foreign and security policy, including counterterrorism. Turkey is part of the
international coalition against ISIL/Daesh and continued to provide humanitarian aid to Iraqi/Syrian
refugees.
High Representative/Commission
Vice-President Federica Mogherini,
Commission First Vice-President
Frans Timmermans and Donald Tusk,
President of the European Council,
meet with Ahmet Davutolu, Prime
Minister of Turkey, at the United
Nations General Assembly, New York,
United States, 29 September 2015.
At the end of November an EUTurkey Summit was held in Brussels at which the joint action plan on
migration was activated. The EU and Turkey reaffirmed their commitment to further their existing ties
and solidarity, enhance cooperation, re-energise the accession process, adopt result-oriented action
and hold structured and more frequent high-level dialogues.
In December accession negotiations were opened on economic and monetary policy.
Recep Tayyip Erdoan, President of Turkey,

and Commission First Vice-President Frans
Timmermans discuss the migration crisis,
Ankara, Turkey, 15 October 2015.
78 THE EU IN 2015
Strategic partnerships
United States
Cooperation between the European Union and the United States in 2015 focused on strengthening
the bilateral relationship through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations,
and also on data protection and privacy negotiations (see Chapter 6). Close cooperation continued on
addressing global challenges such as climate change, energy security, nuclear non-proliferation and
the nexus between security and development.
China
2015 marked the 40th anniversary of EUChina relations. In June the EU hosted the 17th EUChina
Summit. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on foreign policy, security and global issues.
Summit leaders adopted a joint statement prioritising a number of actions implementing the EUChina
2020 strategic agenda for cooperation, as well as a specific joint statement on climate change. China
committed itself to stepping up investment in the EU in support of the investment plan for Europe.
EUChina investment agreement negotiations continued to progress, and the EU took the opportunity
to raise human rights concerns, with both sides agreeing on the importance of continuing dialogue
in this regard.
Russia
Throughout 2015 the EUs relations with Russia continued to be dominated by Russias interference in
Ukraine, including the illegal annexation of Crimea and direct destabilisation of the country. In the
course of the year the EU prolonged the restrictive measures that had been imposed in 2014 (visa bans
on individuals and entities, economic sanctions and measures related to the annexation of Crimea). At
the same time the EU and Russia maintained open lines of communication on global issues and on
international crises, most notably regarding Iran. The EU engaged in trilateral talks with Russia and
Ukraine as regards gas supply issues, successfully brokering an agreement in September on the winter
package of gas deliveries to Ukraine. The EU viewed with unease the internal developments in Russia
relating to a deterioration in the human rights situation and further restrictions imposed on civil society.
Commission Vice-President Maro

efovi (centre), Alexander Novak,
Russian Minister for Energy (left), and
Volodymyr Demchyshyn, Ukrainian
Minister for Energy and Coal Industry
(right) after reaching agreement on
the winter package of gas deliveries to
Ukraine, Brussels, 25 September 2015.
The Middle East
Iran
High Representative/Commission Vice-President Federica Mogherini, the foreign ministers of the
E3/EU+3 (the EU, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, along with China, Russia and the
United States) and Iran reached agreement in July on a long-term solution to the Iranian nuclear
issue. The joint comprehensive plan of action ensures the exclusively peaceful nature of the
Iranian nuclear programme and provides for the comprehensive lifting of all nuclear-related
sanctions. This positive development opens the door to the steady improvement of relations with
Iran, provided that the action plan is fully implemented.
High Representative/Commission Vice-

President Federica Mogherini (fourth from
left) with the foreign ministers of the
E3/EU+3 following the agreement reached
on the Iranian nuclear issue, Vienna,
Austria, 5July 2015.
Iraq and Syria

EU action in Iraq is guided by the regional strategy for Syria and Iraq as well as the ISIL/Daesh threat,
adopted by the Council in March. The EU proactively facilitates the efforts of the Global Coalition to
Counter ISIL, particularly in the areas of counterterrorism, stabilisation and humanitarian assistance.
It also supports the government of Iraq in its reforms promoting inclusiveness and national
reconciliation. The EU is a driving force in the United Nations-led international effort to facilitate a
political solution to the conflict in Syria, which has forced an estimated 12million people to leave
their homes. The EU has allocated 4billion to assist Syrians and host communities, particularly in
Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. A substantial funding increase is planned through the new EU Regional
Trust Fund in response to the Syrian Crisis (the Madad Fund).
The EUAfrica partnership

In March 2015 the EU strengthened its action in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Guinea
when the Council adopted the Gulf of Guinea action plan for 2015-2020. The action plan outlines the
EUs support for the efforts of the region and its coastal states to address the many challenges of
maritime security and organised crime.
80 THE EU IN 2015
The EU made support available from the earliest stages of the devastating Ebola epidemic that
was reported in west Africa in March 2014, providing around 2billion to contain the outbreak and
promote early recovery in the affected countries. The Commission alone committed 870million,
including 70million for urgent humanitarian assistance.
Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis

with one of the winners of the 2015
European Health Award, presented to
non-governmental organisations that
distinguished themselves during the
Ebola emergency, Mondorf-les-Bains,
Luxembourg, 12 October 2015.
Commissioner Neven Mimica at a water well during his

visit to Samburu County, Kenya, 18September2015.
The EU undertook six election observation missions in countries in Africa during 2015, concluded
a number of economic partnership agreements with African regions and was particularly active in
defusing political crises in Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and South Sudan.
Human rights in the world

Against the background of instability, protracted conflicts and the migration crisis 2015 was a year
of unprecedented challenges to human rights, with serious and widespread violations and increasing
harassment of and attacks on activists and non-governmental organisations. The EU continued to
advocate for, defend and promote human rights and to provide financial support to civil-society
organisations and defenders of human rights worldwide. Human rights dialogues and consultations
were held with nearly 40 partner countries, and with many more partners locally. The EUs external
action in this area is founded on the EU strategic framework on human rights and democracy, adopted
in June 2012, and by the new action plan adopted by the Council in July 2015, which outlines the
priorities and strategy for 2015-2019.
The European Year for Development

2015 was the European Year for Development, with the motto Our world, our dignity, our future. The
main objective was to inform and raise the awareness of EU citizens, especially young people, of the
results achieved by the EU and its Member States in development aid. The European Union remained
the worlds largest donor of development assistance in 2015. During the year the 11th European
Development Fund, worth 30.5billion, became fully operational.
EU development aid: sufficient means

for great needs?
(Clockwise from front left) Franois Hollande, President

of France, David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom, Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister of Italy, Jean-
Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission,
Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, Shinz
Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, Stephen Harper, Prime
Minister of Canada, Barack Obama, President of the
United States, and Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany,
discuss the United Nations Sustainable Development
Agenda at the G7 Summit, Krn, Germany, 7 June 2015.
In 2015 the United Nations General Assembly adopted new sustainable development goals that
will guide global efforts to achieve sustainable development in the period leading up to 2030. The
EU has been a strong supporter of the 17 goals and will ensure that they are implemented at home
and abroad.
Responding to humanitarian crises and emergencies

The worldwide trend of increasing man-made and natural disasters continued during the year. The
Commissions Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) provided relief
assistance of over 1.5billion including food, shelter, protection, healthcare and clean water to more
than 120million people in over 80 countries.
In 2015 the Commission allocated 361million in humanitarian aid to help children, women and men
caught up in the humanitarian disaster inside Syria and in neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
Collectively the EU has allocated more than 5billion to assist Syrians and host communities in
neighbouring countries since the start of the conflict. A further increase in funding is planned through
the new EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis.
82 THE EU IN 2015
Commissioner Christos Stylianides

helps distribute EU relief assistance in
Nepal after the earthquake which killed
over 8500 people and left many more
injured, Khokana, Nepal, 2May2015.
The Commission also substantially scaled up its humanitarian support in Iraq, to a total of
104.65million, in response to a crisis that has left over 10million people in need of life-saving
assistance.
To assist populations affected by forced displacement, food insecurity and acute malnutrition as
a result of the ongoing conflict in Yemen the Commission allocated 52million in humanitarian
funding.
Throughout 2015 the EU continued its support for Ukraine by providing 242million in aid.
UKRAINE CRISIS
Refugees
to neighbouring countries
EU humanitarian
and recovery aid 1 100 000+
Shelter Food Water and

sanitation Internally displaced persons
1 400 000+
registered
Healthcare Protection Relief

goods
Estimated number
242 million* of people in need

of humanitarian aid 5 million
* EU institutions and Member States contributions.
Sources: EU, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, International Organisation for Migration.
By the end of 2015 more than 1.5million children growing up in conflict and emergency areas had
benefited from humanitarian projects providing access to education and psychosocial support under
the umbrella of the EU children of peace initiative.
Also in 2015 the EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated for 25 emergencies in disaster-stricken
countries around the world.
Security and defence

In June the European Council called on High Representative/Commission Vice-President Federica
Mogherini to prepare an EU global strategy on foreign and security policy in close cooperation with
Member States, to be submitted to the European Council by June 2016. The aim of the new strategy
will be to provide a broad vision for the EUs global role, with the emphasis being on EU actions that
can add most value to national capabilities.
The fight against terrorism continued to take centre stage in the work of the EU during the year.
Counterterrorism and security experts were appointed to seven EU delegations, and counterterrorism
and political dialogues were held with a number of countries and international institutions, such as
the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The EU continued to strengthen its
comprehensive approach to external conflict and crises. It was active in supporting conflict prevention
measures in more than 30 countries, including through mediation and analytical work.
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of

the United Nations, meets with High
Representative/Commission Vice-
President Federica Mogherini, Brussels,
27 May 2015.
CHAPTER 10
The proposal and election of

the President of the European
Commission in the light of
the outcome of the European
Parliament elections is
certainly important, but
only a first step in making
the European Union as a
whole more democratic.
A European Commission
under my leadership will
be committed to filling the
special partnership with
the European Parliament
I am also committed to
enhanced transparency when
it comes to contact with A Union of democratic
change
stakeholders and lobbyists
I also intend to review the
legislation applicable to the
authorisation of genetically
modified organisms.

84 In 2015 the European agendas were driven by the the European Commission
Parliament provided years major developments, and the Subsidiarity Control
significant input in debates such as the tensions in Mechanism. The mechanism
ranging from the economic Ukraine, terrorism, the allows national parliaments
situation in Greece to the refugee crisis and the in the EU to issue opinions
refugee crisis. In October it situation in Greece. if they consider that EU
held discussions with the draft legislation does not
German Chancellor, Angela The European Economic and comply with the principle
Merkel, and the French Social Committee and the of subsidiarity. Members
President, Franois Hollande. Committee of the Regions of the Commission made
It was the first time in over focused their activities on numerous visits to national
30 years that the leaders of the Commissions work parliaments to explain key
the EUs two largest Member programme for 2015. priorities and major political
States had addressed the Georges Dassis was elected initiatives.
Parliament together. Also as the new President of
in October the Parliament the European Economic During 2015 the
awarded the Sakharov Prize and Social Committee, Commission organised
for Freedom of Thought to while Markku Markkula was 53 citizens dialogues
Saudi Arabian blogger and elected as the new President throughout the EU, enabling
human rights activist Raif of the Committee of the citizens to make their voices
Badawi. Regions. heard by EU decision-
makers.
Latvia and Luxembourg held National parliaments
the rotating Presidency of continued to express their
the Council of the European views on EU matters via
Union in 2015. The Councils the political dialogue with
Chapter 10 A Union of democratic change 85
The European Parliament at the centre

of EU political life
Throughout 2015 the Parliament debated and provided input on several policy issues. Many high-
profile visitors addressed the Parliament during the year, including Laimdota Straujuma, Prime
Minister of Latvia, His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the
United Nations, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, President of Mongolia, Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece,
Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain, Franois Hollande,
President of France, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy, and
the heads of EU institutions.
Martin Schulz, President of the

European Parliament, Angela Merkel,
Chancellor of Germany, His Majesty
King Felipe VI of Spain and Franois
Hollande, President of France, at the
European Parliament, Strasbourg, 7
October 2015.
The European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize for

Freedom of Thought to Saudi Arabian blogger and human rights
activist Raif Badawi.
86 THE EU IN 2015
New presidents for the EUs two advisory bodies
Georges Dassis was elected President

of the European Economic and Social
Committee on 7October2015.
Markku Markkula was elected President

of the Committee of the Regions on
12February2015.
Better regulation
In May the Commission took positive steps to increase openness and transparency in the EU decision-
making process while improving the quality of new laws and promoting the systematic review of
existing EU law when it adopted the better regulation agenda.
This package of reforms introduced several new measures, including new consultations and
possibilities for feedback that will provide more opportunities for enhanced stakeholder involvement
and for more public consultation. In July the Commission launched a facility for stakeholders to
provide feedback on roadmaps, inception impact assessments and adopted proposals, opening its
policymaking process to further public scrutiny and input. This is the first step in implementing a
better regulation portal, offering user-friendly access to the processes involved in EU lawmaking.
In addition a new Regulatory Scrutiny Board came into being in July. It provides a reinforced central
quality control and support function for Commission impact assessments and evaluations. Along with
its chair the board will have six full-time members, three of whom will be recruited from outside the
EU institutions.
In December the Commission endorsed a new interinstitutional agreement on better lawmaking

with the Parliament and the Council to improve the quality and the results of EU legislation. It will
bring changes across the full policymaking cycle, from consultations and impact assessments
to the adoption, implementation and evaluation of EU legislation. The text was negotiated with
the Parliament and the Council and must be approved by all three institutions before entering
into force.
REFIT platform
REFIT is the Commissions regulatory fitness and performance programme. It comprises high-level
Member State experts and stakeholders from businesses and civil society. Its aim is to collect
suggestions on the reduction of regulatory burdens in an open dialogue with stakeholders and
Member States.
About 200 REFIT initiatives have been taken since 2012. This has been achieved through evaluations,
new simplification initiatives, withdrawals and repeals. Progress in implementing REFIT initiatives was
reported in the annual scoreboard published in May. Work continues on making EU law simpler and
reducing regulatory costs while maintaining policy benefits.
REFIT MAKING EU LAW LIGHTER, SIMPLER AND LESS COSTLY
State of play and outlook, December 2015

Proposals withdrawn by the Commission, 2006-2015 Total
80
369
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
68
10
30
20
59
22
16
15
53
76
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Monitoring the application of EU law

In July the Commission adopted its 32nd annual report on monitoring the application of EU law,
which reviewed the Member States performance in the correct and timely implementation of EU law
in 2014.
The Commission launches infringement procedures when a Member State does not resolve an alleged
breach of EU law or has not notified the measures transposing a directive into national law within the
agreed deadline. Citizens and stakeholders can directly report suspected breaches of EU law through
an online complaint form, which is accessible via the Your Rights portal. In 2014 the majority of
complaints filed concerned employment, the internal market and justice.
Overall trends showed that the number of formal infringement procedures has decreased in the last
5years. As in the previous year the environment, transport, and the internal market and services
remained the policy areas in which most infringement cases were opened. This decrease reflects the
effectiveness of the structured dialogue with Member States via the EU Pilot mechanism before a
formal infringement procedure is launched.
88 THE EU IN 2015
Transparency and accountability
A new transparency initiative and the Transparency Register 2.0 launched

Transparency is important for the public legitimacy of the EU decision-making process and for gaining
citizens trust.
In January a new version of the joint European ParliamentEuropean Commission Transparency

Register was launched. The register is a key tool for implementing the Commissions transparency
policy. It sheds light on those seeking to influence policymaking in the EU institutions and lists the
issues they follow, the clients or members they have, their membership of EU structures and the
human and financial resources they invest. All organisations that join the register sign up to its code
of conduct, which serves as a moral compass for their relations with the EU institutions.
Control of the EU budget

After a positive recommendation from the Council, in April the Parliament gave the final approval,
known as discharge, to the way the Commission implemented the EU budget in 2013. The discharge
is one of the instruments used by the Parliament and the Council to control the way the EU budget is
spent. When granted it leads to the formal closure of the accounts of the institution for a given year.
Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva

(left) in discussion with Vtor Manuel
da Silva Caldeira, President of the
European Court of Auditors (centre),
Brussels, 23September2015.
When deciding whether to grant, postpone or refuse a discharge the Parliament takes into consideration
the annual report of the European Court of Auditors. In November the Court presented its annual
report on the implementation of the EU budget in 2014. The external auditor of the Commission gave
the EU accounts a clean bill of health for the eighth year in a row, and also confirmed that both the
revenue side and administrative expenditure were free from significant errors. Moreover, the Court
estimated a decreased overall error rate in payments (4.4%) for the second consecutive year.
In this regard it is important to remember that for around 80% of the EUs annual budget, notably
in the areas of agriculture and cohesion policy, the Commission has an important control function,
but Member States are the ones primarily responsible for the daily management of the EU funds.
When administrative errors are identified the Commission and the national authorities in Member
States take measures to get back the money. Between 2009 and 2014 the average annual amount
of such financial corrections and recoveries was 3.2billion, or 2.4% of the payments made from the
EU budget. This corrective capacity illustrates the multiannual nature of most programmes and the
commitment of all public authorities to the protection of taxpayers money.
Access to documents
The right of public access to documents is an important tool in the field of transparency. The annual
report on access to documents, adopted in August and covering the year 2014, describes how the
Commission implemented the current rules and legislation on this matter.
The annual report clearly illustrates the importance of the right of access to documents as part of
the Commissions overall transparency policy. In 2014 the Commission received 6227 requests for
access to documents. The requested documents were fully or partially disclosed in 88% of cases at
the initial stage. Following the services initial replies the applicants were able to ask the Commission
to review its position by introducing a confirmatory application. The Commission reviewed 300
confirmatory applications in 2014. The number of confirmatory requests continued to increase for
the seventh year in a row, with a significant 27% increase in 2014. Wider, additional, access was
granted in 43% of cases at the confirmatory stage, bringing the total percentage of full or partial
disclosure decisions to 90%.
The volume of access requests and the high rate of disclosure of documents show that the right
of access to documents is actively used by EU citizens and has resulted in a large number of
documents being made available, in addition to the extensive documentation already available on
the Commissions website.
Citizens right to good administration

In 2015 the European Ombudsman, Emily OReilly, continued to implement her Towards 2019
strategy, which aims to increase the relevance, impact and visibility of the Ombudsmans activities.
Among the cases examined by the Ombudsman were own-initiative inquiries on the composition of
Commission expert groups and on transparency in trilogues, as well as an inquiry into the transparency
of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations.
Emily OReilly, European Ombudsman,

presents her annual report to Martin
Schulz, President of the European
Parliament, Brussels, 26 May 2015.
Review of the decision-making process for the authorisation

of genetically modified organisms in Member States
In April the Commission delivered on a commitment in its political guidelines by completing a review
of the decision-making process for the authorisation of genetically modified organisms. A new
legislative proposal was submitted that would give Member States the capacity to restrict or prohibit
the use of EU-authorised genetically modified organisms in food or feed in their territory, based on
domestic reasons other than risks to health or the environment. The science-based authorisation of
a genetically modified organism will still be assessed at EU level.
The proposal was submitted for examination under the ordinary legislative procedure to the
Parliament and the Council, which recently adopted a directive granting similar capacities to Member
States in the field of genetically modified organism cultivation. The Parliament rejected the proposal
in October. First-reading discussions continued in the Council.
90 THE EU IN 2015
The European citizens initiative

The European citizens initiative enables 1million EU citizens from at least seven Member States to
call on the Commission to propose legislation. To date three European citizens initiatives have been
submitted after meeting the necessary requirements and thresholds Right2water, One of us and
Stop vivisection and have been responded to by the Commission.
In March the Commission published a report on the application of the citizens initiative, reviewing the
application of this new instrument since its entry into force in April 2012. The report concluded that
organisers faced difficulties in creating the online collection systems for signatures, particularly given
the limited time available for collection. The Commission therefore continued to provide temporary
hosting solutions to organisers free of charge and commissioned a study to analyse options to
develop a sustainable solution for the online collection systems. The report also identified problems
faced by organisers regarding, in particular, the divergences between the conditions and personal data
required by the Member States in the collection process. The Commission called upon the Member
States to harmonise and simplify these requirements.
Citizens dialogues
In January 2015 the Commission launched a new series of citizens dialogues, where citizens can
make their voices heard in front of EU decision-makers, thus demonstrating that listening to and
holding discussions with citizens is an important part of the EUs democratic policymaking process.
Throughout the year the Commission reached out to thousands of citizens, with the Commission
President, Vice-Presidents and Commissioners participating in 53 events throughout the EU. The
President of the European Parliament, a number of members of the European Parliament and national
politicians also participated in the dialogues.
Getting in touch with the EU
ONLINE
Information in all the official languages of the European Union is available on the Europa website:
europa.eu
IN PERSON
All over Europe there are hundreds of local EU information centres.
You can find the address of the centre nearest to you at:
europa.eu/contact
ON THE PHONE OR BY MAIL

Europe Direct is a service which answers your questions about the European Union. You can contact this service by freephone:
00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00800 numbers or may charge for these calls), or
by payphone from outside the EU: +32 22999696, or by e-mail via europa.eu/contact
READ ABOUT EUROPE

Publications about the EU are only a click away on the EU Bookshop website:
bookshop.europa.eu
You can also obtain information and booklets in English about the European Union from:
EUROPEAN COMMISSION European Commission Office in Northern EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

REPRESENTATIONS Ireland INFORMATION OFFICES
74-76 Dublin Road
Belfast, BT2 7HP
European Commission Representation in Information Office in Ireland
UNITED KINGDOM
Ireland 12-14 Lower Mount Street
Tel. +44 2890240708
12-14 Lower Mount Street Dublin 2
Internet: ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom
Dublin 2 IRELAND
IRELAND Tel. +353 16057900
Tel. +353 16341111 European Commission Office in Scotland
Internet: europarl.ie
Internet: ec.europa.eu/ireland 9 Alva Street
Email: epdublin@europarl.europa.eu
Email: eu-ie-info-request@ec.europa.eu Edinburgh, EH2 4PH
UNITED KINGDOM
Information Office in Malta
Tel. +44 1312252058
European Commission Representation in 254 St. Paul Street
Malta Valletta VLT 1215
Dar l-Ewropa MALTA
European Commission Office in Wales
254, Triq San Pawl Tel. + 356 21235075
2 Caspian Point, Caspian Way
Valletta VLT 1215 Internet: europarlmt.eu/en
Cardiff, CF10 4QQ
MALTA Email: epvalletta@europarl.europa.eu
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +356 23425000
Tel. +44 2920895020
Internet: ec.europa.eu/malta/home_en Information Office in the United Kingdom
Email: comm-rep-mt@ec.europa.eu Europe House
32 Smith Square
London, SW1P 3EU
European Commission Representation in
the United Kingdom UNITED KINGDOM
Europe House Tel. +44 2072274300
32 Smith Square Internet: europarl.org.uk
London, SW1P 3EU Email: eplondon@europarl.europa.eu
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 2079731992 Information Office in Scotland
Internet: ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom The Tun, 4 Jacksons Entry
Holyrood Road
Edinburgh, EH8 8PJ
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 1315577866
Internet: europarl.org.uk
Email: epedinburgh@europarl.europa.eu
There are European Commission and Parliament representations and offices in all the Member States of the European Union.
The European Union also has delegations in other parts of the world.
Did you find this publication useful? Let us know: comm-publi-feedback@ec.europa.eu

The European Union
Member States of the European Union (2016)
Candidate countries and potential candidates

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The EU in 2015

GENERAL REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The EU in 2015 General Report on the Activities of the European Union

The EU in 2015 General Report on the Activities of the European Union

Print ISBN 978-92-79-49806-0 ISSN 1608-7321 doi:10.2775/372965

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016

European Union, 2016

A NEW BOOST FOR JOBS, GROWTH AND INVESTMENT 9

A CONNECTED DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET 21

A RESILIENT ENERGY UNION WITH

A DEEPER AND FAIRER INTERNAL MARKET

A DEEPER AND FAIRER ECONOMIC

A REASONABLE AND BALANCED FREE TRADE

AN AREA OF JUSTICE AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

TOWARDS A NEW POLICY ON MIGRATION 65

A STRONGER GLOBAL ACTOR 74

A UNION OF DEMOCRATIC CHANGE 84

At the beginning of my mandate in November 2014 I promised a new start

continue to help the often overburdened national authorities in the most

Jean-Claude Juncker, political

A new boost for

The investment plan for Europe

THE INVESTMENT PLAN COMPLETES THE VIRTUOUS TRIANGLE FOR

Focus areas include: Public money as a catalyst

Commissioner Carlos Moedas,

Investment backed by the fund is targeted at developing infrastructure (broadband, energy

Werner Hoyer, President of the European

HOW DOES THE INVESTMENT PLAN WORK?

The European Investment The European Investment

Small and medium-sized

Source: European Commission.

FROM INVESTMENT TO JOB CREATION

21 x 15 315 410 billion

Source: European Commission.

Economic and fiscal policy

Supporting Member States

(Clockwise from bottom left) Franois Hollande,

Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of

Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece,

YOUNG PEOPLE (15-24 YEARS OLD) NOT IN EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION

Source: Eurostat, labour force survey.

Regional policy in support of jobs, growth

PROPORTION OF FUNDING FROM THE EUROPEAN STRUCTURAL AND

Source: European Commission.

Commissioner Corina Creu visits a

Regional policy and the Europe 2020 strategy

Research and innovation

Commissioner Carlos Moedas at the

Commissioner Elbieta Biekowska

Investing for a greener future

In December the Commission proposed a comprehensive circular-economy package. The package is

Werner Hoyer, President of the

Unlocking the growth potential of agriculture and oceans

Commissioner Phil Hogan visits the

Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and

An EU budget focused on results

We must make much

Jean-Claude Juncker, political

The digital single market strategy

maximising the growth potential of the digital economy.

Commission Vice-President Andrus

Better access to goods and services

MORE INTEGRATED NETWORKS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Access Environment Economy and